


Empyrean

by AhYin



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fate & Destiny, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Daughter Relationship, POV Third Person, Romance, Visions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24856660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AhYin/pseuds/AhYin
Summary: A mother feels all types of things when it comes to their children, and there are times when they can feel so in tune with their emotions. A bond between a mother and child can be special. But there is one bond that a mother can’t fill. A bond that can only be akin to a soulmate."Mommy, what’s a soulmate?”That's what Aerith had asked Elmyra out of the blue when she was very little. It was a trying question to say the least, hearing that word coming out of the mouth of a seven year old.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 59
Kudos: 169





	1. Re*on*n*e

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous since this is my first fanfiction in a very, very long time (let alone posting on AO3). I'm talking 10+ years, I don't even remember when I last written and posted fanfiction for any fandom. This is also the first time I've ever written something for the FF7 fandom. I'm rusty, I'm sorry! The remake rekindled my adoration for this ship, so I decided to polish my writing chops and try my hand at it once more.
> 
> This will be a very short multi-chaptered fic, since I don't think I have the balls to commit to something too long. This will be primarily on the perspective of Elmyra, Aerith's adoptive mother. I think there's a kind of beauty in indulging in a ship from the outside looking in. And what's more beautiful than a mother's perspective of her own daughter, Aerith, and Cloud.

_“Mommy, what’s a soulmate?”_

That's what Aerith had asked Elmyra out of the blue when she was very little. It was a trying question to say the least, hearing that word coming out of the mouth of a seven year old. It’s been years now since that time and she could never recall the way in which she had answered her.

But she did remember her expression. Her flushed cheeks and downturned face at that moment will always reverberate in my mind. Her answer had seemed to trigger something in Aerith, and when asked why she had asked she simply shook her head.

Well.

Not even five minutes after she was bouncing out of the doors and into the garden right outside of their home.

Aerith had always seemed to find solace in their flowers.

As Elmyra wiped the dishes dry, she could just see Aerith once again through the kitchen window sitting in the middle of their flower field outside of their home. She was nineteen now, and grew up to be a splitting image of her birth mother Ifalna with those soulful green eyes and long brown tresses. She knew she could wrap anyone around her little finger.

A knock at the front door pulled Elmyra out of her reverie. Drying the last of the dishes and a quick glance at the clock urged her that it was just about time for a new batch of their fresh soil to be delivered. Wiping her hands down the side of her apron, she headed towards the front door. 

As expected, it was the same young gentleman, Arkyn, who delivered it every time. He had taken quite a liking to Aerith, akin to a small crush. Of course, things like these won’t be missed by a mother. Elmyra let out a quiet chuckle.

He was turned towards their flower field where Aerith was, his back facing the front door despite just knocking on it. Not even opening the door made him budge and turn back around. Yet it took a small cough from her for Arkyn to whip back around in a hurry.

“Oh, ah! Sorry.” Wiping his hands nervously down his shirt, he nudged the sack of soil closer towards the door. “How are you today, ma’am?”

“I’m doing just fine.” Elmyra answered. Holding out the gil while trying to hide her smile.

With a slight blush on the tips of his ear lobes, he accepted the gil from her. And seemingly taking more time than necessary trying to work out the change.

Hm.

Elmyra shifted her gaze towards where Aerith was.

She was once again sitting on her knees in the middle of the yellow lilies, just staring up at the sky absent-mindedly. As far back as Elmyra could recount, Aerith had this odd pastime of just staring up at the sky. Elmyra never really knew what she was thinking whenever she had this time to herself, but one thing she did know was that she always seemed at peace whenever she did.

While other nineteen year olds her age hung out with their friends, focusing on relationships, making questionable choices—Aerith never seemed to be drawn to these things. In a way, it was one less thing to worry about for Elmyra but it always crossed her mind. Aerith held a much greater burden than most people her age and even older. Yet she always never lost her spark, she was a firecracker that was for sure.

“Here you go, ma’am.” Arkyn held out the remaining change in gil.

Elmyra directed a smile at the young man.

“Aerith, look who’s here.” She called out to her daughter, her gaze from Arkyn to Aerith.

Aerith’s gaze slowly moved away from the sky towards the house where Elmyra and Arkyn were. The young man was once again flustered, being put under the spotlight. A small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

“Heya! Nice to see you again.” She greeted him, a full blown smile lighting up her face. However, not budging from the spot where she sat comfortably on her legs.

Peeking a quick glance at the sky, she turned back to Arkyn. “Isn’t the sky beautiful today?”

Looking flustered, he followed Aerith’s gaze at the underbelly of the plate that loomed over the sector 5 slums. “Uh… I guess? I mean y-yes, it is.”

After mumbling a farewell to Aerith, he directed a small bow at Elmyra and hurried himself down the dirt track.

Elmyra shook her head slightly. Poor Arkyn, he looked about ready to combust. Elmyra didn’t mean to subject him to anymore embarrassment but she just couldn’t help it. He was a pleasant boy, and someone who she felt was a more comfortable choice if she was to choose a man for her daughter. Alas, the balance always seemed off and she couldn’t really put a finger on why she felt that way. Although she would have loved a nice boy for Aerith just like any normal mother would, she just couldn’t see the bigger picture.

Removing her apron from around her neck, she opted to join Aerith in the field who seemed like she wasn’t going to move for the next hour or so. She sat on the grass so that she slightly faced Aerith but in the opposite direction of her.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Elmyra asked, peeking at Aerith.

Aerith rested her head ever so slightly on Elmyra’s shoulder. “Of course, I don't.”

Elmyra revelled in this peaceful moment, knowing that maybe one day this feeling might slip through her fingers.

“And how are the clouds today?”

“They’re beautiful today too.” Aerith answered after a beat.

 _How are the clouds today?_ It has become somewhat of a routine to ask her daughter this question. She almost felt compelled to ask her, because she’d always just watch the sky through an abandoned crack in the plate above them and would always comment about the clouds that passed through those cracks. The plate damage was supposed to be repaired by Shinra a couple of years back but never met its completion. It worked out in the end for Aerith.

If the clouds were gray her mood reflected it, if they were white as snow she would try to capture every movement of it.

Indeed, the clouds were beautiful today. Elmyra noted as she shifted her gaze towards the sky.

From here on out, they would usually just sit for another half an hour before Elmyra picked herself up and continued off with her house chores but today was different and with a start, she could just hear Aerith’s voice uncharacteristically breaking the silence.

“Mom, I…” it was so quiet it sounded almost like a sigh. “I feel a bit confused.”

Well, this was a bit of a different scenario than what she was used to. Regaining herself, she looked towards Aerith who was still absentmindedly staring up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?” Elmyra asked her gently.

“I… Actually, I never really knew how to explain this to you.” Aerith began, “but these visions of mine are becoming so much more vivid that I feel like I need to talk about it.” 

A few moments of silence followed, before she continued once more.

“There are times where I can see his face and there are times when I can’t.”

Elmyra was startled to say the least. This was the first time she had heard of any sort of visions that her daughter’s been having in recent times. For it to be of another person made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The last time Aerith had any sort of deep tie to her visions was when her husband had passed.

Reaching out to hold Aerith’s hand as a silent encouragement to keep going, Aerith flinched a little, almost as if she was in her own world up until this moment. But she gave a grateful smile and continued after a moment longer.

“Have you ever felt like there’s just… someone out there just waiting for you?” Aerith let out a small sigh. “Sorry, I know it sounds stupid—”

“—Does this have anything to do with the soulmate you mentioned all those years ago when you were little?” Elmyra took no time in engaging with Aerith’s conquest, at this point she had learnt just to listen.

Aerith turned to look at Elmyra, shock written all over her expression.

“I said something like that?” Looking away, she cupped her cheeks in between her hands. “Oh, no!”

Elmyra let out a small laugh.

“No, I—” Aerith began, her face still burrowed in her hands. “It’s not like I know who he is or anything. I just…”

Aerith had gone quiet.

Elmyra watched as her expression dropped, she wanted to urge her more but knew Aerith was simply gathering her thoughts on what to say.

“This boy in my visions,” Aerith began as she hugged her knees to her chest, “there are times when I can feel his suffering and sometimes I can be so in tune with his emotions that I also tend to feel the same way.”

Her delicate fingers slowly made its way to cover her face, the slightest tremble to her fingertips.

Listening to Aerith, she could recall the amount of times Aerith would just stare into space with a very troubled expression. Even worse, there would be times she’d even have these unexplainable episodes of painful migraines during random times of the day that would only last for a short while. She wondered if those were the times when Aerith felt it. She could recall one time, two years ago with Aerith that was particularly worrisome that she’d never forget.

*

_The sudden clatter of cutlery smacking against the table caused Elmyra to look up from her own plate. Across from her, Aerith sat almost doubled over her plate and clutching the temples on the crown of her head. The weight of pain etched onto her delicate features._

_“Honey?” Elmyra sat up with a start, abandoning her own cutlery on her plate. “What’s wrong?!”_

_Aerith let out a small whimper of pain through her clenched teeth. One of her hands reached out to Elmyra who had quickly made her way to Aerith’s side of the table, trying to reach out to her. But the searing pain caused her to abruptly clutch at her forehead once more._

_“M-Mom!” She managed to choke._

_Elmyra hushed her, bringing one of her arms around Aerith’s shoulder and the other one over Aerith’s hand that was clutching onto her head._

_“You’ll be okay, honey.” She soothed._

_Elmyra swiftly lifted her up from the chair and brought her up the short flight of stairs to her room. Carefully maneuvering her towards her bed, sudden movements seemed to worsen her pain but she had to get Aerith to lie down as soon as possible._

_“Tell me_ he’ll _be okay.”_

_“What was that, honey?” Elmyra busied herself getting Aerith propped up comfortably against her pillows, not quite catching what Aerith said. She wiped the now damp tendrils of her hair away from her face._

_Aerith squeezed her eyes shut, her hand grabbing onto her blankets on each side of her. The pain seemed to slowly subside however not quite dissipated just yet. She parted her lips slowly, seemingly trying to squeeze a few words out._

_Elmyra catching onto this leaned a little closer, slowly caressing her forehead and the sides of her face._

_“We’ll be okay.” Aerith breathed out in a sigh._

*

“I don’t know who he is… and I don’t know where he is.”

Aerith’s nimble voice brought Elmyra back to the present.

She could see at the corner of her eye as Aerith fingers slowly retracted from her face, and back around her knees once more. Gripping them with enough strength to make the tips of her fingers turn white, as if she was holding back some kind of unsung emotion. Elmyra had never seen Aerith like this before, but lately she had been subdued which was not in her nature. It made Elmyra wonder if something had happened.

“But sometimes…” Aerith turned her head slightly to look at Elmyra, “…nevermind. I’m sorry I’m being a bummer.”

Elmyra rubbed her hand gently along Aerith’s back, doing what mothers do best. An unpleasant feeling of dread began to spread slowly across her chest. Call it mother’s instinct, but Elmyra felt like something substantial was beginning at that point in time. Something that will change their lives forever.

But what was it? She didn’t like this feeling at all. 

As she continued to slowly rub soothing circles on Aerith’s back, a cracking thunder resounded from above them.

Elmyra could hear Aerith let out a small gasp as she quickly shifted her gaze to the sky through the crack of the plate. The clouds turned an eerie grey.

A storm was coming.

*

_Resonance_


	2. Rea**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man... uh well trust me, I did reread through this and I just want to give a warning now that this is a angst/heavy angst fic. There will be a small bit of fluff in the following chapters at least for what I have planned in writing but it will be a primarly an angst fic. So if you were roped in by the fluff tag I'm sorry! Thanks to everyone who left a kudos or comment or both!

Very few things can scare Elmyra, absolutely shake her to her very core. She was the wife of a Shinra militarian, and anyone who can empathise will know the strength it takes time and time again to be one. But nothing could prepare her for the blood-curdling scream that broke through in the middle of the night. It was a scream that no mother will ever be prepared for in their lifetime, and wish they would never have to prepare for. Something was very wrong.

_It was her baby, Aerith._

The scream came from her room upstairs. There was no mistaking it. Even through the crack of thunder and the aggressive force of the hard rain hitting the windows of their cottage, her scream cut through it all.

Elmyra sat up in bed with start, she could hear the hard pulse of her heartbeat ringing in her ear. Nothing had sounded after that scream she heard almost as if unresponsive. Something was definitely not right, and she could not help but fear the worst. Her bed covers were long forgotten as she quickly got out of bed and made her way up the short flight of stairs to her daughter’s room.

“Aerith?!”

Bursting through her daughter’s bedroom door, she was greeted with complete darkness which was unlike her daughter. It took a few minutes for her vision to adjust, relying on the light that shone through from the hallway. The first thing she saw was Aerith’s bedroom lamp that was usually on her bedside table on the floor beside her bed, the light bulb completely shattered.

As the lighting crackled once more outside, she could just see her daughter’s silhouette against the window pane. She was breathing hard, her hand pressed up firmly against her chest.

_She’s okay, thank God._

Elmyra gripped the door frame tighter, mostly from the relief she was feeling. Rather it wasn’t her own wellbeing she was worried about at this time. Aerith still seemed like she couldn’t calm down and get her breathing back to normal.

“Aerith, what happened?” Her voice quietened to a whisper, as she made her way across the dark room.

Aerith was still a little frantic, not even having turned towards her mother but rather trying to look for something. Her eyes searched through what seemed to be almost every corner of her room. They finally settled on Elmyra as she approached her. She hadn’t seemed to notice how hard she was breathing until Elmyra moved her hand around her shoulders, one hand pressed against hers on her chest.

“Honey, I’m going to need you to take slower breaths for me, okay?” Elmyra soothed her, she could feel the gradual tremble of the young girl in her arms.

Aerith slowly inched herself closer to Elmyra, nodding as she tried her best to calm herself. As her sharp intakes of breath had subsided she leaned closer to Elmyra almost like she was physically so drained that she couldn’t keep herself up. They stayed that way for a few more minutes, she could feel Aerith’s delicate fingers gripping onto her forearm that was wrapped around her shoulders and splayed across her chest.

The storm was relentless, and did nothing to soothe Aerith’s quivering body. In fact, every clap of thunder that resounded seemed to heighten the tension throughout her body.

“He’s–”

Aerith muttered through her trembling lips, momentarily startling Elmyra. She could feel the fingers that gripped her forearm tightening. As she looked down at her daughter, she watched as Aerith’s eyes widened slowly. She gradually shifted her body away from her mother’s arms, inching closer towards the edge of her bed.

She looked slightly perturbed.

“Aerith?” Elmyra furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “what is it?”

“He’s here...” She whispered, her eyes stared straight at her bedroom wall almost like she wasn’t here with them but somewhere else entirely.

 _‘He’s here.’_ Who _was here?_

They both stilled. A slow ringing echoing against her bedroom walls.

Although the storm continued outside the cottage, in that room it was almost like you could hear a pin drop despite the circumstances. Elmyra felt disquieted by this, not really sure how to respond to Aerith. She hadn’t felt this uneasy since Aerith began talking about her husband and the circumstances around his death. However, this was not the time as Aerith increasingly became more frantic and apprehensive.

“He’s–” Aerith let out a sharp gasp and cried out, “he’s here!”

Aerith was quick to try untangle herself from her bedsheets, almost getting her leg caught in the process. She had just narrowly missed the lamp and the broken shards of its light bulb that had fallen abandoned beside her bed as she planted both feet firmly on the floor. Elmyra looked down long enough to see that although her foot was relatively a safe distance away from the broken glass, her hand however did not come out unscathed. How she had missed the cut bleeding out on Aerith’s hand was beyond her. She must have gotten it when she hit the lamp off her bedside table.

Before Elmyra could even get the chance to grab her daughter, Aerith was already running towards her bedroom door in an almost panicked state.

“Honey, where are you going?!”

Elmyra quickly shouted after her but she was already almost halfway down the short flight of stairs leading down straight towards their front door. She had a very bad feeling that was exactly where Aerith was headed. There was no way she was going to let her daughter out there in this weather. She swiftly followed after her daughter’s retreating figure, who was so quick she almost stumbled over the baskets that were carelessly placed on the floor.

In her haste to make her way outside, Aerith struggled to slip on her boots. Her fingers shook with unrest. It was enough time for Elmyra to catch up to her frantic daughter who was almost hysterical at this point trying to get outside as fast as she could.

She had managed to pull open one of their front doors before Elmyra made it to the last step to wrap one arm around her daughter’s waist.

“No! Please!” Aerith pulled against her mother’s hold until she was free. “I need to–”

The strong wind caused the door to fling wide open against the coat stand that stood beside their door, toppling it over. The cold breeze whipped through the open door, as the heavy rain continued to pour and slamming heavily against the exterior of their cottage. Their front porch cover was useless against the downpour as the rainfall still managed to angle itself directly through the front doors. It engulfed Aerith completely who was just wearing her white linen nightgown, her shoulders and arms completely exposed to the cold. She took an unvoluntary step back, causing her to bump slightly against Elmyra.

However, her will to make it outside and past those doors gave her the strength to push past the brutal hurdle of the storm. As her boots hit the floorboards of their front porch, she held her breath waiting for her eyesight to adjust to what’s in front of her.

“–loud.”

_Loud?_

Elmyra collected herself, her arms lifted to cover her face as the rain continued to pour in through their front door. But she was quick on the trail of her daughter who was slowly walking down the steps of their porch and onto the dirt track that led out to their flower fields. Aerith was frantically calling out to something, but the downpour had drowned it out for Elmyra’s ear to catch. As she got closer to Aerith she could just make out what she was calling out to, or rather it was who she was calling out to. A chill ran down her spine.

_It was a name._

“Cloud?!”

Aerith was moving a little faster now along the dirt track, the brutal storm long forgotten as the rain hit hard on her slender shoulders.

“Aerith, please come back inside!” Elmyra called out to her daughter, she felt almost hopeless as her daughter paced the dirt track. She felt like there was nothing she could do in her own power to ease her daughter at this point. She wasn’t going to calm down until she found who she was searching so desperately for.

She sought to catch up to Aerith, who traversed further down towards the makeshift bridge that crossed over a small river they had running straight down their fields. It was particularly dangerous now, the tides had risen and the flow of the water was almost as relentless as the downpour. But none of it had seemed to phase her daughter who never stopped calling out that name since she stepped out of their home.

“Honey,” she began to say, now right on the heel of her daughter. “Please, there’s no one out here.”

Aerith abruptly stopped in her tracks right at the foot of the bridge, causing Elmyra to bump into her from behind. Her daughter’s sharp intake of breath made the hairs at the back of her neck stand up. Glancing over Aerith’s shoulder just in time to see a shadowy figure a few feet in front of them on the bridge.

It looked to be a young man, weak and subdued as he knelt down on one knee. He was struggling to keep upright as both his hands tightly gripped onto the hilt of the large sword in front of him, rammed carelessly into the wooden planks of the bridge.

Aerith’s breathing picked up speed once more, she was panicked. “Cloud...”

Elmyra could only make out the top of his head that could be seen just beyond his sword, blonde strands of hair with its tips stained with mud and what looked to be blood as well. Lot’s of it. Despite the rain pouring down, the blood on his arms and around his head just wasn’t washing away it was almost like he was bleeding so profusely that it was too fast for the downpour.

He seemed to have heard Aerith because he slowly lifted his head but seemingly with as much strength as he could muster. As if he had nothing left to give for the battle, but hearing her daughter's voice awakened that small amount of strength for him to look up at her. A flash of his sharp blue eyes could be seen through his hooded eyes, but that was all they could see. His whole body began to tip dangerously to the right, as he could no longer support himself.

His body slammed against the already weak and fragile wooden railings of the bridge. It gave way under his weight and they both watched in horror as he fell over the side of the bridge, diving straight into the river.

“No!”

Elmyra could just make out an anguished cry from Aerith who was already making her way down the muddy slope beside the bridge that led directly down towards the river. Although the tides were high right now due to the storm, the river was low tide to begin with. As soon as his body hit the surface of the water, he would’ve still slammed hard on the rocky earth below it.

“Aerith! Stay back!” Elmyra shouted after her daughter, she couldn’t go down the slopes as quickly as Aerith. It was getting more slippery by the second.

But Aerith, who was frantic to reach him, didn’t even care for any potential hazards. Falling down and slipping a couple of times just to reach the edge of the river. Her nightgown has gone from pure white to a mix of brown and red.

“Cloud!” Aerith cried, stepping straight into the river. She let out a small groan due to the cold shock of the water on her skin but still took one painstaking step forward after another.

He lay a bit closer to the edge of the river, so still and unresponsive that she feared the worst for him.

Aerith slowly inched closer to where his body lay, the flow of the water pushing against her legs making it difficult to reach him.

“Please.” She begged, almost hysterical as she reached him and made her first attempt to get him out of the river. But her injured hand made it difficult for her to get a solid grip around him. Her hand slipped across his back.

With a small grunt, shifting his torso slightly she managed to loop her forearms securely around his underarms to haul him towards her. The weight of his body increased by tenfold because his muscles were completely lax, the current pushing against his body making it more difficult for Aerith to drag him further up to more shallow waters. With the exertion of effort, she stumbled backwards so that now she was also sitting on the slope. It gave her enough force to pull him further up and out of the water.

Elmyra was not too far behind, worry worth a hundred years etched onto her face. At any moment, Aerith could lose her footing and that would send them both straight into more dangerous currents. If that happened it wouldn’t just be the young boy whose life is at risk. Squinting through the downpour as she also started moving closer to the edge of the river, she could see Aerith had pulled him almost completely out of the river with just his lower torso submerged in the water. She was saying something to him, or was she shouting something to her? Elmyra didn’t know anymore, she didn’t know if this was real anymore.

_Snap out of it, your daughter needs you._

Elmyra squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. She pushed herself to move closer to them. The young boy’s back was now flush against Aerith’s thighs as she held him with both arms across his shoulders, his head limp and resting against her stomach. She was rocking him gently back and forth, seemingly like she exhausted the last of her energy to completely pull him out of the cold water.

“Honey,” Elmyra called out to her, finally reaching where they lay. She held out a hand towards them. “Here let me–”

“–No! Don’t touch him!” Aerith cried out, her gaze not focused on Elmyra but on the young boy who was resting against her. The arms wrapped around his shoulders tightened. “Don’t hurt him!”

Elmyra froze in shock.

Wherever her daughter was, it definitely was not right here with them. Her eyes were glazed over, trained only on the boy in front of her and checking every part of him. She continued to rock him in her arms. She was not here with them. Something was very wrong. Elmyra had to be careful with the way she approached Aerith, especially in this fragile and emotional state.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly lifted her hands towards Aerith’s face. Making it clear to her frantic daughter that she wasn’t going to touch the boy. Gently cupping Aerith’s face in her hands, she made sure that their eyes were locked onto each other. Otherwise, Elmyra would not get through to her daughter.

“Aerith baby, listen to me.” Elmyra began, her tone hushed and directed only at Aerith. “I will not… hurt him... and I promise you that.”

Aerith stilled, with a small intake of breath through her parted lips. The look in her eyes at that moment, as if she was going to shed a tear from utter relief that no harm was going to come to him. Elmyra didn’t know what was going on. But she was thankful that she reassured Aerith as it seemed like she was finally realising the situation they were in.

A groan of pain came from below them, the boy was writhing in pain. Now that she was closer she could see all the fervent cuts and countless injuries along his arms. Bruising in every part of his skin that touched a vein. He was suffering, and he needed medical attention immediately.

“I know, honey.” Elmyra stroked her cheek, “but we need to bring him in. Now.”

Aerith gave a quick nod, her hands shaking as she once again looped her arms around one of his. Elmyra also grabbed his other arm and worked to lift him in a futile attempt to get him on his feet. But she could see that he was also making a languid effort to take some of his own weight to make it easier for them. Even in his current dire state, he was still battling the internal and external pain he was experiencing.

Elmyra closed the door behind them, helping Aerith to get him to the second floor and into the spare bedroom. Aerith worked swiftly around him, gathering towels from their cupboards while Elmyra quickly made her way back downstairs to where their mounted phone was in the kitchen. She tapped a few of the buttons and waited for the dial tone to sound. Within minutes, the person on the other line picked up.

“Sorry to be calling so late, doctor, but it’s urgent.”

*

_Reach_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi *peeks*, okay so I can explain... okay I can't explain. I'm sorry I know I also don't know why I do this to myself nor understand why I write about Cloud and Aerith in pain but it just hits that angst!clerith spot. Initially, this chapter was going to go on for a bit longer but I just couldn't, especially after how draining it was to write this scene in particular. Forgive me.


	3. Rem*a*t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Sorry for the short delay for this chapter. I'm three chapters in and starting to really feel the repercussions of writing angsty chapters back to back. Emotionally exhausting. But then again, I don't even know if I'm any better at fluffy chapters either haha. Nonetheless, thanks to everyone for the support on this short fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

The storm had settled to a light drizzle now, however what felt like a turbulence within their cottage walls had not stopped. It felt like a chill constantly penetrating her bones, mostly due to the haunting circumstances she was suddenly thrust into with Aerith and this young boy whose life was suddenly hanging on by a thread. Elmyra didn’t have the luxury of time on her hands to think about what had just happened as she hurried to grab a couple more clean towels. She had just gotten off the phone with the doctor who was graciously more than willing to come over on her urgent request.

The door of their spare bedroom was left ajar and she could just see the frantic blurred figure of her daughter straying not too far from the boy. If she left for even a moment, it was only to grab more pieces of cloth or towel to press firmly onto the boy’s open wounds.

“Here you go, honey.” Elmyra called to Aerith, handed her a couple more towels whilst making quick work of tending to the wounds on his head.

Elmyra inspected the young boy, he was barely conscious but was still able to move his hand to Aerith’s to help her press down on the wound along the far left of his abdomen. His breathing coming out uneven and staggered from the searing pain.

Aerith had not spoken a single word.

It was unlike her to go so long without vocalising a whole sentence. Elmyra glanced briefly at Aerith, almost startled by the sheer amount of concentration etched on her delicate features. Her brows were deeply furrowed, her usual lively emerald green eyes almost looked like a deep sea green trained only on the boy. She was still shivering slightly from the onslaught of the downpour, rather it could also be from the pressure of how hard she pressed on his wounds.

A heavy few knocks came from their front door downstairs just as soon as Elmyra had completed patching the boy’s head wound as best she could. The relief that bubbled up from her chest apparent as she swiftly made her way down the short flight of stairs to get the door. She could hear a second voice which could have meant that the doctor had also brought his wife who was a nurse to assist him. The doctor had probably sensed the urgency in Elmyra’s voice over the phone, immediately acknowledging that the situation at hand required several more hands.

Opening the door for the doctor and his wife, they both were looking out at the now somewhat tranquil gray sky. They turned back around at the sound of the door behind them.

“Elmyra.” He nodded in her direction, a couple of bags and a suitcase in his hands.

“Thank you for coming this late, doctor.”

Elmyra moved to one side to allow the doctor and his wife through. She noticed several more bags held in the hands of his wife. Her eyes trailed from the bags and slowly along the now almost unrecognisable dining and kitchen area of their cottage. Everything was toppled over from the onslaught of wind that penetrated through their front door. 

“That’s quite alright.” He turned towards the flight of stairs to the left, not even taking a second glance at the mess as if he was expecting the sight. “Now, take me to the boy.”

She led the way, stepping over the abandoned coat rack that lay on its side. As she stepped up onto the second floor, the doctor and his wife not too far behind, she had a clear view once more into the spare bedroom.

Although the scene before her had not changed from when she first left Aerith, a sight almost breathtaking unfolded before her eyes. It might have only been for a short time, just for one moment as she set her eyes on Aerith and the boy in front of her. Just for a short time she could have sworn she saw a semblance of a thread, bright red in colour. It wound around Aerith’s arm, the coils looser around the top of her arm and became tighter closer towards her hand that were now directly on top of the boy’s hand. The thread continued, twisting around her fingers and connecting to his own. It mirrored it’s coils from Aerith’s arm to his, also wrapping itself along the length of his arm.

_But it was just for a moment._

Elmyra blinked and the thread was gone. It was so quick that she wondered briefly if she actually saw it or if her exhaustion was catching up to her.

“Is everything alright?” The doctor asked from behind her, he and his wife also now on the second floor. She had realised that she had stopped in her tracks momentarily.

“Yes,” Elmyra answered through that one breath she held in, “sorry about that. Just through here.”

Aerith wasn’t phased by the sudden commotion behind her, still as concentrated if not more than before on the boy’s wounds. It wasn’t until the doctor had come up behind them, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder that she jerked slightly from the contact.

“Aerith, it’s okay now.” He reassured her, motioning to his wife we began unpacking the contents of their bags. “We’ll take it from here.”

She seemed almost hesitant to even move a muscle. Although her expression and the breadth of her shoulders had visibly relaxed at the sight of the doctor, her hand stayed firm and taut on top of the boy’s hand, unwilling to let go.

The doctor seemed to have noticed this, addressing her gently once more. “You’ve done well till now, Aerith.”

Aerith slowly released her hold on his wound, watching as the doctor’s wife quickly replaced it with her own. Slowly stepping back from the bed to make way for the doctor. 

Elmyra had come up from behind her to wrap her arms around Aerith from behind who once again began to shake. The adrenaline from before must have been winding down now. The mental and physical stress from the events of tonight finally taking over her exhausted body.

The state of the boy in front of them could only be described in junction with the slight shock on the doctor’s face. For sure he’s seen some bad things in his lifetime working in his profession, and for sure he’s seen worse than this yet for some reason he couldn’t help the sudden rush of indignation at the state of this young boy that it made his hands scrounge up into a tight fist.

They began quick work on him, carefully removing the soiled towels to get a better look at his wounds. Elmyra could barely look on as the towels draped heavy over the doctor’s hand, completely soaked red from blood with only a few patches of the white colour it used to be. He could barely keep his eyes open now, and it was a miracle that he was able to stay conscious for this long. His head now tilted to the side in the direction where they stood, his hooded eyes trying to meet Aerith’s.

Their gaze locked onto each other was suddenly broken by the boy who jerked slightly forward, his face screwing in agony as the doctor had pressed his hand down harder on his wound. He let out a low groan through his teeth.

In her arms, Elmyra could feel Aerith’s shoulders tense up. Her arm became taut as she gripped her fingers into a tight fist almost as if she was the one in pain.

The doctor gently prod the boy’s eyelids open, shining a small flashlight directly on his pupil. A momentary pause, seemingly to gather his thoughts, he once again clicked off his flashlight and went on to tend to his wounds as the boy finally gave in to his own exhaustion.

“Aerith, why don’t you go get cleaned up?” It came out as a request more than a question. She breathed out a sigh, not certain if Aerith would comply.

“Okay, I will.” Aerith answered in reply.

Elmyra blinked, not expecting her to be so compliant. Turning towards her daughter who looked a lot calmer now.

“Mom,” Aerith turned to her completely, looking down at her fingers that were stained with dried blood. “I’m sorry for making you worried. I just–”

“–Shh.” Elmyra hushed, enfolding the trembling girl in her arms.

Leading her daughter towards the door with her arms around her, she made sure to accompany her daughter towards their bathroom. Grabbing the very little supply of towels from the cabinet in the hallway as they made their way there.

“Here.” Elmyra held out the towels towards Aerith, her other hand on the bathroom door. “I know this might be a lot to ask. But I don’t want you to abandon yourself either. I’m asking you to get some rest after you’re finished cleaning yourself up. Do you understand?”

Aerith’s back was faced towards her mother, and at Elmyra’s request she stiffened slightly. She could read the hesitation all over her daughter coming off in waves. She bowed her head slightly in resignation, to which Elmyra accepted as an agreement.

She slowly closed the door behind Aerith, leaving her daughter so that she could start tending to the cottage. Starting with Aerith’s room and the hazardous mess of shattered glass beside her bed. She slowly worked her way out towards the hallway, passing by the slightly shut door of the spare room where she could just see the doctor and her wife still tending to the young boy. It was a long night ahead that was for sure.

Elmyra began to tidy up the downstairs floor of their cottage, making quick work of picking everything off the floor.

Time had passed, and the frantic movements resounding from upstairs had seemed to quieten down now with just the occasional mumble between the doctor and his wife. However, it was almost too quiet in the bathroom.

As Elmyra made her way once more up the stairs she peered at the bathroom door that was still closed. Panic began to rise in her chest. It’s been far too long and not even a shuffle echoed from the walls of the bathroom. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked.

“Aerith?” Elmyra called out through the bathroom door, knocking several times.

When no response came, she flung open the bathroom door and found Aerith sitting on the tiled floor of their shower with a weak spray of water coming down on her body. She sat with her arms around her knees hugging them and head between her knees, her shoulders shook as her broken cries were drowned out by the spraying water.

“Oh… no.” Elmyra closed the door behind her, grabbing the towel on the basin. She swiftly scooped her daughter up from the shower, wrapping the towel around her shivering body before wrapping her own arms tightly around her daughter.

Her cries were quiet, but broken and it completely broke Elmyra’s heart to see her daughter in this vulnerable state. Feeling almost helpless, she could only offer her words of comfort to soothe her as best she could. 

“He’s safe...” Aerith mumbled into Elmyra’s shoulder, barely getting any audible words out as she spoke through her cries. “He’s here and he’s safe–.”

“Yes, he is.” 

Elmyra moved one of her hands from around her daughter, placing it gently on her head and caressing her with slow soothing motions.

She didn’t know it then, but she was almost certain now that Aerith had a deep tie to the boy who lay in critical condition in their spare bedroom. It was difficult to wrap her head around the events of tonight, forcing herself to be a mother first before anything meant she could not ask questions that could cloud her judgement. But she couldn’t help the questions that were convoluting her mind as she held Aerith in her arms.

*

“Elmyra.” The doctor called out to her. “Do you mind if I have a word with you?”

Elmyra slowly turned her gaze away from Aerith from where she stood leaning on the door frame. Aerith was sitting on a stool propped beside the bed where the boy lay. She was resting her head on her forearm on the side of the bed, facing the boy who was now fast asleep and what looked to be almost half of his torso wrapped in bandages. Her hand rested on his, gripping it tightly.

Despite requesting her daughter to rest, she couldn’t seem to get herself to try to tear Aerith away from him. At least not tonight. She’ll allow it tonight. Although it never showed itself again, she felt like she saw somewhat of a projection of that red thread, remnants of it at least.

“Sure.”

She walked quietly towards the doctor who was also staring at the two youngsters.

He didn’t look away as he began to speak. “You said you found him outside?”

“Yes, during the storm earlier.” Elmyra sighed, the events of earlier quickly replayed itself briefly in her mind.

“He was out in that storm?” The doctor shifted his gaze to Elmyra. Rather it seemed more like a statement rather than a question as if he was trying to process it himself. “I don’t know how he was able to withstand that onslaught. He would’ve succumbed to his injuries even faster than one normally would if what you said was true.”

Indeed, Elmyra had a similar passing thought as she inspected the boy’s injuries earlier. Her brows slowly furrowed, listening to the doctor as he continued.

“Mako poisoning.” 

Elmyra’s eyes slowly widened.

“A severe case.” The doctor muttered, turning away from Aerith and the boy. “His pupils… There is mako infused in those irises and it’s clear as day.”

“Mako… poisoning?” Elmyra repeated after him softly. 

Sure she had heard about the unforgiving procedure that Shinra SOLDIERS had to undergo, and she knew it involved liquid forms of mako. But that’s just about all she knew about it. How could this young boy have absolutely anything to do with mako let alone be poisoned to a severe degree like this, she had a difficult time trying to find an answer to it.

The doctor didn’t allow her to process much else before he asked once more. “How old is the boy?”

Before Elmyra could reply to him that she didn’t know his exact age, Aerith spoke up from her place beside the boy.

“He’s eighteen.”

The doctor as well as Elmyra went quiet, both turning towards Aerith who didn’t leave her gaze from the boy’s sleeping face. They didn’t speak as it all started to sink in for the both of them and become obvious to everyone present in that room. This boy had undergone a suffering that no one at eighteen should have experienced. It was almost too much for Elmyra and for the first time that night she felt a stray tear roll down her cheek.

*

The doctor left for the night, himself and his wife had packed up all of their equipment and aid kids. Aerith had taken the time to embrace the doctor and his wife, her face etched in pure gratitude as if she owed them her own life for saving the boy. Elmyra had seen them out, bidding her own gratitude and a safe return to their own home. She kept a mental note to send them a basket of fresh medicinal herbs that they grew in their garden for their tireless work tonight.

It had been a tiring night for everyone for sure, but she knew it was an even more tiring night for her daughter who seemed to have settled once more beside the boy.

_Cloud. Yes, that was his name._

She didn’t know why but Elmyra felt like it was only right to start addressing him by his name. She thought this as she slowly approached her daughter who she at first thought was fast asleep until she heard the quiet voice of her daughter appraise her in the otherwise dead silent room.

“I was so young at the time… I didn’t know what she was talking about.” Aerith began, her voice almost a whisper. She slowly shifted her gaze from Cloud to Elmyra. “My mom, Ifalna.”

Elmyra felt a slight restriction in her chest hearing that name once more, Aerith had never spoken much about her birth mother. Taking another stool nearby she opted to sit beside Aerith who seemed to have a lot on her mind that she struggled to form into words.

“At least,” Aerith continued. “I probably just didn’t understand, yet I still remember when she told me about the red string of fate. It was back when we were at my old home in the Shinra building.”

A quiet groan emitted from in front of them, Cloud was at sudden unrest. His brows furrowed in pain once more as he struggled to relieve himself from the pain in his current state. Without uttering a word, Aerith lifted a hand and placed it gently on his forehead. The reaction was almost immediate, he stilled and his contorted facial muscles went lax until he donned a more peaceful expression once more.

*

_Remnant_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we're still on the first night huhu. I'm sorry if the pacing is a little slow at the moment but I didn't want to rush this part as it's important to establish just how deep their bond runs. I also know this fic might be lacking in direct moments (I guess you can call it) between Cloud and Aerith. Even though I'm tempted to just make it either Aerith or Cloud 3rd POV, I feel like I’ll lose sight of what I wanted to achieve for this fic. Which is capturing the beauty of their bond through the eyes of other people. 
> 
> And since I haven’t written in years, I’m kind of scared to butcher their character and make it too OOC by accident. So I’m sorry if you wanted a POV from Aerith or Cloud, but I might not touch up on that here.


	4. Re*em**r

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, this chapter is almost 6k words which is a record for me. I mean I guess I deserved having to poop this long chapter out for leaving you guys hanging for this story for more than a week. I really don't have an excuse, I'm really just a lazy mf. I'm on hiatus at the moment so I've had the chance to write for this fic and I really don't know what I wrote, when I say pooped I literally shat something out.
> 
> Anyway, sorry again for my tardiness. I'll be better! Thanks again for your support on this short fic!
> 
> (Not proofread, I'll read over it tomorrow and edit as I go. It's late here.)

“No! Let me go! Mommy!” 

The shrill of a young voice rang through the laboratory, bouncing off the metal walls with so much vigour that it roused Ifalna from her drug-induced state. The panic she felt as she recognised that voice which could have only come from her daughter, Aerith. She broke out of her headiness, desperate to respond to her daughter’s cries.

“H-Hojo…” The despised name came out broken, her throat dry that every word uttered was painful. 

Although her brain was on full alert, her tongue felt so heavy it was difficult to enunciate the words. Yet she wanted to battle it so hard, lifting her head up to try to search for her daughter whose place was anywhere but here. Aerith was not meant to ever step foot in this laboratory and that was why she was here in the first place.

_That bastard._

Through her hazy vision she could just see Aerith strapped to a chair far too large for her tiny body. A contraption meant to rest around the head of the chair’s victim loomed frighteningly above her. It was one of many devices that littered Hojo’s unforgiving lab, even Ifalna who has been put through almost all the contraptions didn’t know what this specific one did. Just the thought itself sent chills down her spine. Knowing Hojo, it for sure was not going to be good.

“You promised not to touch her!” Ifalna managed to spit out, in her spite she almost gained the strength to break her chains from pure adrenaline.

“Oh?” Hojo snarled from his place up on the observation deck. “Guess I got caught. Hm... I should’ve used a stronger drug on you.”

His last few words were more of a memo to himself. He let out a sigh before nodding towards his assistants to release the screaming girl from the chair. She thrashed against their grip, trying desperately to get to her mother.

“Take her back to the room.” Hojo ordered with a disappointed sigh, keeping his sick gaze on Ifalna.

“Mommy!” Aerith cried out before she got carried out through the impenetrable doors of the lab, closing behind them.

Ifalna squeezed her eyes shut in pure relief. She didn’t know what she would have done if Aerith had spent one more second in this god forsaken lab that she’s come to despise down to her very core. Her whole body from the very roots of her hair down to the tips of her toes exuded a fervor of fatigue, she could barely move her limbs. She knew that when her day came to this point that Hojo’s test trials for the day was over.

This was confirmed when the chains that were fastened tightly around her wrist and ankles opened with a heavy clunk, the sudden lack of support made her fall heavily to the concrete floor beneath her.

They didn’t give her time to recover as they gripped her around her wrist, right over the searing band of dark purple bruised skin. She winced at the pain.

Looking up she could just see Hojo’s retreating figure.

With determination she pulled against their hold and turned back around towards Hojo.

“Where are the set of crayons that you promised?” She asked, although weak her voice was laced with resolve. She wasn’t about to leave this damn lab without them.

Hojo whipped back around to face her, a snarl once again graced his features. Ifalna set her defiant gaze straight back at him, not blinking even as his voice rang out across the lab.

“And what makes you think I would fulfil your request?”

“You _will_ fulfil my request, Hojo.” Ifalna’s tone deepened almost threateningly. They both knew the repercussions if Ifalna decided to no longer oblige to participate in his sick experiments. After all Hojo knew well enough that there was only so much he could extract from the ancient if she was not completely willing to cooperate with any prior extractions. That wasn’t to say he wouldn’t just simply torture her into complying, alas Hojo had little time to spare with all the tests he wanted to do.

Hojo stood unfazed for a few minutes before eventually letting out a sigh, realising that Ifalna wasn’t going to budge. He moved over to one of his tables and grabbed onto something, moving back towards the railings and throwing down a couple of crayons towards Ifalna.

“You get the other half after your tests tomorrow.” He piped up, you can almost sense the smug tone of his voice.

“Tch.” Ifalna glowered at his retreating figure. _“Bastard.”_

Ifalna let out a small groan as she pushed herself up off the floor, she’d almost be made to believe that her legs were chopped clean off if not for the searing pain she felt on her right leg to remind her that they thankfully were still in working order. That damn Hojo really put her through the wringer today more than usual. He was getting more aggressive with his experiments and she felt like what she saw today with Aerith was one of the reasons why. The erratic beating of her heart mirrored the unease she felt. Who knows what he was planning to do tomorrow if now he was even taking Aerith without her knowledge.

Hojo was becoming unhinged, crazier after each passing day. Aerith was no longer safe here.

She hobbled over to the few crayons that were sprawn all over the floor, picking them up one by one and making sure none of them were broken. At least there was a bit of a variety of colours in this bundle even though it was only a small amount.

The heavy metal doors opened behind her, leading straight to the small room where her and Aerith were kept imprisoned. It was a small enclosed space with nothing but a lone ceiling light that constantly flickered, it was always cold and sterile. They had always tried different ways to warm up the place. Rather, what seemed to always keep her warmth in this small, sterile room was… _Yes_.

_Aerith._

Slowly walking through the metal doors, she could just see Aerith’s small body curled up on the couch come into her view. Her little, round face scrunched up in a small frown. The sound of the metal doors closing behind Ifalna seemed to stir Aerith from her troubled slumber. Lifting herself slowly from the couch, her sleepy gaze moved towards the doors as she rubbed her eye. As soon as she spotted Ifalna she wrestled herself away from the sheets of the couch trying to get to Ifalna.

“Mommy!” Aerith cried, wrapping her tiny arms around Ifalna’s legs. “Are you okay?”

Aerith was visibly shaken, having been brought in without Ifalna’s knowledge for the first time into Hojo’s lab. Before this Aerith had never stepped foot in there and stayed behind whenever Ifalna had to go in for another round of Hojo’s experiments. But even after going through what she had, witnessing her mother in that state her first concern was making sure Ifalna was okay. 

The warmth of her baby’s concern spread through her chest, the fatigue she felt almost instantly melting away from the touch of these tiny arms that held onto her.

Caressing the top of her head gently, her lips graced with a soft smile. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Although she tried to reassure Aerith, it didn’t really seem to help as the frown on her little features only deepened further at her attempt. To say Aerith was wise beyond her seven years was an understatement. Infalna’s heart dipped, no seven year old should even attempt to understand the predicament they were forced to live under.

Ifalna crouched down to be eye level with Aerith, moving the arm that was behind her back towards Aerith.

“Baby, look what I have for you.” Ifalna piped up, trying to lift the oppressing mood.

Ifalna held out her hands in between them, the few crayons placed side by side along her palm seemed to stand out in their otherwise achromatic prison. Seeing the crayons in Ifalna’s hand, Aerith’s eyes slowly grew in size. Unmoving for a few seconds, she just stared at them as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. 

Everything in the room was earned, a consolation prize every time she had to go through Hojo’s relentless experiments. From the couch placed on the corner, the pillows and blankets. Even the countless number of books she used for Aerith’s homeschooling. It was tiresome work, but she refused to answer Aerith every time the gears in her little inquiring mind would ask her why and how they got these new items regularly. Ifalna knew the older Aerith grew, the more she’ll understand. So for now, while she was still young she wanted to protect her innocence for as long as she can.

All of a sudden she felt Aerith’s arms once again around her neck, the force almost making her drop the crayons in her palm if she didn’t close her fingers around them quick enough.

“T-Thank you.” Aerith cried into Ifalna’s shoulder, almost uncertain how to express the excitement that ran through her small body. “Thank you, mommy.”

*

Despite his threats, Hojo never attempted to take Aerith for his experiments after that day. But that wasn’t enough to quell Ifalna’s anxiety, it definitely wasn’t because Hojo just let his twisted ideas go out of the goodness of his own heart. That’s if there was any to spare. Things were becoming progressively clearer to Ifalna, although back then she didn’t know what exactly Hojo wanted from her daughter.

However, the answer was splayed all over the crayon drawings that were strewn all over the floor. At first she thought that Aerith was just drawing what any seven year old would desire to draw, however they were surprisingly intricate sans the heavy details. The colors of blue, yellow but primarily green graced the plain white papers almost had a sense of familiarity about them.

No, they were familiar. At least to Ifalna they were.

She was aware that Aerith did have somewhat inherent cetra abilities, when she was younger she would speak about her dreams that consistently tied to visions of their people. Ifalna was sure that Aerith didn’t really understand what those dreams were about and why she kept dreaming about the same things but it never seemed to spur on her curiosity for long enough. Ifalna had hoped however that it would eventually become dormant, being only half cetra. That did not seem to be the case.

Ifalna mused as she moved her eyes slowly along Aerith’s drawings of the cetra and their promised land, almost feeling spiritually in tune with each drawing. Aerith indeed had natural talent for art. Her collection of crayons growing everyday, placed almost in all corners and crevices of their small room that was slowly being brought to life by her drawings.

Aerith had drawn so much that she eventually ran out of paper to draw on. With a small streak of rebellion, Ifalna had encouraged Aerith to start drawing on the walls.

“Go on,” Ifalna directed a secret smile towards Aerith one time, “we need a bit of life on these walls too.”

Aerith was only too happy to have a larger canvas, her angelic smile was a balm to Ifalna’s anxiety as it always had. These days she seemed to be a lot happier now, acting as a seven year old should be, without any worry.

What started as small drawings here in there of various things like animals, people, vibrant colours and plant life eventually became somewhat of a mural that spread along the length of the wall. It was impressive, yet somewhat frightening in that it held so much more significance than Aerith could even fathom even if she was the one who drew it. Frightening because if Ifalna didn’t know better, Hojo had a six sense for cetra blood to put it bluntly. She wouldn’t put it past the bastard to have sensed Aerith’s visions of their promised land. 

Ifalna watched Aerith from her place on the couch, resting after another draining day. She was propped up on her knees and balancing on a small stool, a blue crayon in her small hand as she colored in the head of what seemed to be a deer. Ifalna had been wondering for a while now at why Aerith had been so intent on this part of her mural, she was coloring in one of two deers that were standing side by side. On the right of the deer she was coloring, was a matching pink deer. The deers were a bit far off from the center of the wall, as if they were meant to segregate away from it all. They had their own little corner of what seemed to be a forest as their backdrop.

There seemed to be a pattern of sorts when it came to Aerith drawing animals of any kind.

_They are always in pairs._

Sometimes they’d simply be paired off, two butterflies in one section, two swans in another section, then it would be two geese on another part of the wall. Regardless of how many species she drew, they were always either in pairs or colored in pink and blue.

“It’s done!” Aerith piped up with glee, admiring her new deer drawing.

“That’s beautiful, Aerith.” Ifalna complimented, speaking out after a while of letting Aerith draw in peace. “Are they a deer couple?”

At this proposition, Aerith suddenly became quiet. Bowing her head a little. Ifalna became curious at her silence and peered at her daughter's face a little closer to see a growing blush on her cheeks. Ifalna was surprised to say the least. She had never seen her go so quiet so quickly before. Perhaps it was something she had said?

“It’s…” Aerith began, her voice soft but it held somewhat of a gentle tone to it. “It’s me...”

Ifalna was surprised at first, but as she saw the progressive blush on Aerith’s round cheeks she couldn’t help the feeling of endearment she felt. 

“You… and?” She encouraged Aerith to continue.

Aerith turned away slightly, all of a sudden feeling a bit embarrassed by her new drawing and her mother’s questions. She hadn’t given it much thought before now.

“Me and the boy in my dreams.” Aerith answered softly.

_Oh? A boy?_

Ifalna was delighted, contrary to how most mothers would react to this prospect of their child’s life. She knew more than anyone that Aerith would not have the luxury of a normal childhood and maybe even a normal life as a young adult. So for Aerith to be talking about something like this lit a small fire in Ifalna’s hope for Aerith’s becoming future.

Before Ifalna could divulge in a little bit of teasing, she saw the look in Aerith’s eyes and was alarmed to see it as anything but the usual bashfulness that would come with talking about boys. In fact her eyes fluttered a little with unshed tears. 

“Aerith, what’s the matter?” Ifalna lifted herself off the couch to wrap her arms around Aerith.

“I’m just a little sad.” Aerith peeked over at her deer drawing, zoning in on the blue deer. “In my dreams I’m always with this boy but he always seems so… lonely.”

Ifalna slowly rubbed her hand down Aerith’s tiny back. Well, this wasn’t what she was expecting to hear at all. She should’ve known that Aerith’s dreams were anything but normal and her heart dipped with a bit of unease at the thought of another young child possibly suffering a similar fate to Aerith’s.

“But…” Aerith turned towards Ifalna, a small smile starting to grace her small features. “When I’m with him in my dreams, I always try to cheer him up and hold his hand.”

Aerith seemed to have brightened up her mood with her own sentiment. She stared at the drawing of the blue and pink deer couple for a moment, before leaning over to pick up a red crayon that was placed beside her knees. The crayon was used so much that it was shaved off to a bit off of a few centimetres. She could barely grip onto it with her fingers.

She brought up the red crayon to the deer couple and started drawing a red curved line of sorts from the leg of the blue deer to the leg of the pink deer. Ifalna inspected Aerith’s new addition to the drawing for a few seconds with a small frown before eventually moving her gaze along the other parts of Aerith’s mural.

_Wow._

How could she not have noticed it? She had wondered at first why Aerith’s red crayon had been smaller than the rest, but now that she took a closer look she could see that Aerith had used the red crayon constantly to connect every pair of animal species that she had drawn.

It wasn’t a random red line like what Ifalna had originally thought it was... it was a string.

_The red string of fate._

“Honey,” Ifalna began, as she carefully traced the other red lines that Aerith drew. “What are these red lines?”

Of course, Ifalna knew what the red line meant but she also knew that Aerith probably wouldn’t have known what it was and was just subconsciously drawing these red lines. 

“Oh…” Aerith frowned a little, seemingly catching herself with the red crayon between her fingers as if she didn’t even realise she was holding it in the first place. “I really don’t know, it’s just always there whenever I’m with this boy in my dreams and it never really lets us go too far away from each other.”

Ifalna sat on the couch once more, becoming quiet for a moment as she watched Aerith move along to focus on another part of her mural. Her thoughts began to revolve around Aerith’s connection to the little boy in her dreams. It was almost scary to think about Aerith having such a deep tie to a boy that even fate itself decided that there would only be one person for her even being as young as she was at just seven. In fact, it wasn’t Ifalna’s first time encountering what she felt was the entrails of the red string of fate.

_Gast._

The sudden tightening of her chest at the thought of her deceased husband wound so tight that for a moment she felt like holding her breath. She did what she always had, squeezing her eyes shut hoping to ease the pain she still felt at their loss. Rather, for them the string of fate wasn’t remotely so apparent, she just knew they were fated to be together the moment they laid eyes on each other.

However, for Aerith and this boy to have such a deep bond at this age without having even met. She could only be left to imagine what trials and tribulations they’ll have to face in order for them to be together. She and Aerith were tucked deep in the bowels of the Shinra building, just the thought alone was a mental hurdle.

But if it was a matter of hope, then it would mean fate had other plans for Aerith and this boy. If they are truly meant to be together, it meant Aerith’s future was not here in this building. It wasn’t here where Hojo could taint her. Hope bloomed in Ifalna’s heart, her biggest fear that weighed her down almost everyday suddenly became a little lighter.

“Aerith, come here for a second.” Ifalna began with resolve, patting the empty space on the couch beside her.

Aerith padded over to Ifalna, tucking herself beside her mother. She leaned comfortably in her mother’s arms. Ifalna kind of just wanted to enjoy this peace for a little moment, but before that she felt like she had to tell Aerith this thing above all else.

“Can you promise me something?” Ifalna peered down at Aerith whose eyes bore deeply in her own.

“Okay.” Aerith replied with a slow nod, looking taken aback by this whole conversation.

“Promise me that you’ll never, ever let go of this boy in your dreams.” Ifalna said gently, tightening her arms around her little girl.

Aerith just stared at Ifalna, confused over what she was hearing. Ifalna could understand her confusion at least, not letting go of something tangible or someone who wasn’t even here to hold onto wouldn’t really make sense. Ifalna decided to tackle this another way.

“That red string in your dreams will always lead you and guide you back to this boy, right?” Ifalna prompted Aerith, hoping to gain her understanding. Satisfied at seeing Aerith nod once more, she continued. “Then that means you always have to look for that red string in your dreams, if you do this you will never lose sight of him.”

It seemed to have gotten through to Aerith, as another one of her angelic smiles slowly blossomed on her face. The tinge of pink on her cheeks was truly a sight to behold.

Ifalna didn’t know who this boy was, but the single fact that he managed to put this kind of smile on Aerith’s face was endearing. As she sat and just listened to Aerith talk about him, it seemed like she didn’t know much else aside from the fact that his eyes were a deep blue. Which would account for the blue that Aerith tended to color her male animal counterparts in her drawings. 

Lifting her fingers carefully between them, she moved them in front of Aerith with her palm facing them. Aerith looked at them, then slowly shifted her gaze to Ifalna with a questioning gaze. Ifalna let out a small laugh at Aerith’s adorable frown. Taking that same hand she moved to grab Aerith’s own little hand in hers, splaying it open palm side up like hers was not too long ago.

“The red string of fate.” Ifalna began, as she held onto Aerith’s tiny pinky finger. “It ties around your pinky finger, and do you know where the other end of that string is tied to?”

Aerith let out a small giggle, as she shook her head. Ifalna wrapped her arms around Aerith once more.

“It’s tied to the boy’s pinky finger wherever he is right now.”

*

Aerith held a hand out in front of her, on her pinky finger was a small ring that she often pulled back and forth slightly along her finger whenever she was a little nervous. It was rare to ever really find her on edge about anything, but whenever she would she’d do that small gesture to calm her down.

“She never asked me for anything.” Aerith began, slowly placing her hand down to shift her gaze to Elmyra once more. “The one time she asked me for something, it was a promise.”

Elmyra had been listening quietly till now as Aerith recounted the memories she had of her childhood in the Shinra building with her mother, Ifalna. She lost count of the amount of times she needed to wipe at her eyes. Finally hearing about Aerith’s birth mother, the sacrifices she had made for Aerith it was almost too much to handle. There were some nights when Aerith was younger that she’d hear the quiet sobs that would resound behind her closed door. It was all becoming clearer now in retrospect.

_Ifalna, if only you can see Aerith now. You’d be so proud._

She looked over at Aerith who had resumed chopping the lettuce on the chopping board in front of her for the salad they’ll be having with their dinner tonight. A few days had passed since that fateful night. Cloud was still recovering and he still had a lot more rehabilitation to go through until he was completely recovered. But he was fully conscious now, and able to move around for a bit. 

It was still a bit alarming the rate that Cloud was recovering. The doctor had come by the other day to check up on Cloud and had also been equally shocked at his progressive recovery. Out of earshot of the youngsters, the doctor exchanged with her some alarming details about his speculations over Cloud. Stating that the mako in Cloud’s system works as a sort of accelerant for blood coagulation, or in a more broader sense as an accelerant imbued in his system that would speed up his recovery process.

The clang of a pot lid brought Elmyra to the present, she could just see Aerith stirring the soup with the ladle careful to not stir it too fast or to spill it over the side of the pot. She settled the lid back onto the pot, a small smile touched her lips as she looked down at her fingers once more.

“You know…” Aerith's soft voice broke through the white noise, becoming almost wistful. “There was one time a few years ago that I had almost forgotten… I had almost forgotten him.” Her voice broke a little. Yet she continued on, moving towards the chopping board once more to start cutting some tomatoes. “I remember feeling panicked, I remember just… squeezing my eyes tightly shut thinking that would magically make me remember what or who it was. The one thing my mom asked me to hold on to, I lost sight of.”

Elmyra who was up until that point was basting their roast pork on the dining table, had now shifted her gaze fully to Aerith and fully intending to see if Aerith was okay. But before she could, Aerith had turned to her with a bright smile on her face. An even brighter smile that she’s ever seen since that fateful night.

Seeming to sense what Elmyra was about to ask her, Aerith answered. “I’m okay now.”

That didn’t seem to be a lie, at least Elmyra felt it deep down that Aerith had been a lot happier these past few days. She seemed to be content just being beside Cloud. 

Well, naturally being a mother she needed peace of mind. But she did feel unreasonably a little guilty every time she’d do a tiny peek in the spare bedroom to see what they were up to. Some days she’d just sit on the stool and nap beside him while he was also asleep, some days she’d be sitting on the edge of his bed painting on canvas propped up on her easel. Now that he was completely conscious, when he was awake they’d sometimes engage in small conversations. Albeit, it seemed a tiny bit one-sided as he seemed flustered every time while conversing back but Aerith didn’t seem to pay it any mind as she continued to be her usual preppy self.

This morning seemed a little different though, passing the spare bedroom to go down to the flight of stairs it was almost out of habit now to take a peek inside. Cloud was awake, even earlier than Aerith which seemed out of the ordinary as he had always been the latest to rise. He was staring straight out of the window that was beside the bed he lay, staring with an intensity that had left a lasting impression on Elmyra. Even up till now as she and Aerith were preparing dinner. She couldn’t help but feel like something weighed heavy on his mind. 

Something didn’t feel right. 

*

And it wasn’t. 

For some reason her intuition seemed to have played a card once more. The night of the storm, and that horrific scream from her daughter that was forever ingrained in her mind. Then once again in the middle of the night, she thought as she slipped on her robe and made her way out of her room that was adjacent to their dining area on the first floor. What awoke her wasn’t nearly as alarming as the night of the storm, but she seemed to have expected it nonetheless as the prospect of it trickled in her thoughts since this morning.

Elmyra opened the door in time to see Cloud completely dressed, his buster sword fastened on his back. He was stock still as he stared down at the bucket that he had just knocked over beside the staircase that led up to the first floor. He didn’t seem to notice Elmyra as he continued to stand still and listen for any sign of Aerith upstairs being roused by his carelessness.

If it wasn’t for the circumstances, she would’ve laughed. He looked ridiculous with his bandages still tightly wound around several parts of his body.

“You’re leaving?” Elmyra finally spoke up, making him jerk towards where she stood.

Cloud momentarily looked like a deer caught in headlights, before dropping his gaze to the floor. He bore a look of guilt before eventually replying to her.

“I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me.” He began with uncertainty laced in his voice. “But I can’t stay here… I can’t put Aerith or you in any more danger than I already am by being under this roof.”

Cloud stood taller now, he spoke with as much resolve as he could muster but she could already see that even maneuvering himself to get to this point had already drained a lot of his energy. He was right, and she understood his concerns but she just didn’t feel right sending him out there in his condition.

“Cloud, I understand. I do.” Elmyra addressed him as she pulled out one of the dining chairs to take a seat. “But what’s out there for you? In your current condition where you’re not even fully recovered, you’re going to go out there and what situation will you find yourself in?”

He fell quiet at her reprimand. Elmyra could sense an internal battle ensuing within him. Rather, it seemed to have been an ongoing battle for the couple of days since he had been awake and she deduced the impending actions he’d take. He had a good heart, and she could see his concern for Aerith was genuine. More than anything, he seemed afraid of her and afraid to touch her for some reason that she’d probably never understand.

“I knew it.” A voice quietly piped up from the stairs behind Cloud.

Aerith stood there, an unwavering gaze straight on Cloud as she appraised him from head to toe in his gear. She didn’t seem shocked, and it shouldn’t have surprised Elmyra that Aerith knew what Cloud was up to. Afterall, they did share a bond that was almost ethereal in nature.

“Aerith, I…” Cloud’s voice was quieter now as he turned towards her. “You know we can’t stay together. Shinra–”

He stopped himself, a small frown slowly began to adorn his face. It was almost as if even he couldn’t believe a word that he was saying even though it was coming out from his own mouth.

“You don’t think I know that?” Aerith questioned him, closing the distance between them until she stood right in front of him, “You don’t think I know that more than anyone? Maybe... even more than you do.”

Cloud stood completely still, locking his equally unwavering gaze on Aerith. They both seemed to have forgotten that Elmyra was still in the room with them, or maybe they just didn’t seem to care because what did matter was who was standing right in front of them. Regardless, Elmyra would let them talk it out, since it seemed almost too intimate for her to even be listening into.

“I can’t stop you.” She didn’t let him continue, she was unstoppable at this point as the words just seemed to naturally flow through her lips. “But you go out there and there’s nothing stopping me from going out there with you. There’s nothing stopping me from going out there to find you if you leave without me, Cloud.”

Without waiting for his response, she turned back around and began trekking her way up the stairs once more from where she came from. She was giving him the choice, but either choice didn’t allow him to be without her. She was telling him with resolve that she wasn’t afraid of what choice he made because she wasn’t going to let him go no matter what.

Elmyra almost felt proud, and concerned at the same time because she knew that Aerith was serious judging from how she was a few nights ago when it came to Cloud.

Cloud had been quiet till now, he hadn’t moved a muscle but seemed to be thinking hard about what Aerith said just a moment ago. Elmyra couldn’t help but let out a small sigh, she knew he was coming from a good place and she knew Aerith understood that as well since she wasn’t exactly angry over Cloud’s actions. She didn’t know if this was the right time to talk about it, but as she continued to watch Cloud just stand there torn about what to do she couldn’t help herself.

“You know, Cloud.” Elmyra wrung her hands together, resting them in front of her on the table. “That night you came to us… I’ve never seen Aerith like that before.”

Cloud’s shoulders sunk a little, but he seemed to be intent on listening to what she had to say and thus she continued.

“She was so desperate, so frantic to get to you.” Elmyra paused for a bit, wondering for a moment if it seemed like she was trying to guilt trip him. “I’m saying this because I want you to know that she will do anything in her power to make sure you’re okay.”

He knew what she was insinuating, and she wanted to make it clear to him that Aerith was not about to go back on her word.

“Aerith has never really been one to make selfish requests, and for the first time tonight I feel like I’ve finally seen her make one. Even if it meant looking selfish, she still wants to be with you.” Elmyra had only been speaking the truth that for the entire twelve years she’s been with Aerith she has never seen Aerith really take something for herself. It had always been her giving to everyone else. “You seem to be the same, Cloud.”

Cloud let out a small gasp, seemingly having hit the nail on the head.

“Tonight, you were going to put our safety first before your own.” Elmyra continued, setting her gaze once more on the young boy who just looked so lost it almost broke her. “For once, I’d like to see you be a little selfish too. Afterall… your happiness seems to be right here. Right where Aerith is.”

He was looking straight at her now, his bandaged fist wound up in a tight grip. 

Elmyra didn’t feel like she needed to say anything more as the air around him seemed to gradually change.

“Excuse me.” Cloud mumbled, before making his way up the short flight of stairs.

*

_Remember_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know how I ended this chapter seems like the end, no... no it's far from over it's seriously just beginning and I'm dying at the thought of having to write out the next few chapters. But it's too late to turn back now lmfao! We innit too deep my friends.


	5. Rel*p*e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! ... *Gets a shoe thrown at her* Ugh, I'm sorry especially to those who have left a comment looking forward to the next chapter. I'm a bit worried if it's met your expectations especially after the long wait and how I left it. I think this short fic will continue on for a couple more chapters (possibly 3-4) so I'm looking to tie it together soon. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Without further ado, please have this chapter!
> 
> By the way, if you guys didn't know already I am CC (@gainstrife_) on Twitter you're welcome to follow me. I'm loud though so just look through my posts to see if you want to follow no pressure haha.

It was a given that Elmyra’s daily routine did not include inspecting a dining table leg for several minutes in the least, yet here she was crouching down beside a table leg and looking at the fine polish that she was almost ninety percent sure was not this shiny when she passed by it yesterday. But more than that, the whole table was mysteriously stable now. Usually there was a slight sway to it, not really the annoying kind but a slight lean if you put weight on a specific area. It was unnoticeable half the time.

Now that Elmyra thought about it, she did notice slight changes around their cottage and the only conclusion that she could reach was the work of the young man who resided with them. For sure Aerith wasn’t going around fixing the small quirks around the cottage but then again you can never really know with her free spirit.

Elmyra finally stood up, using the table edge for leverage now that it was strong once more almost like brand new. She was wondering all this time, for the few weeks that he has been here, if she should ask Cloud if he had been the one fixing and repairing things. But he had also stayed silent until now and fixing only the small issues, almost like he wanted to stay under the radar and not let them acknowledge his handy work. Elmyra let out a small laugh at the thought.

Looking over to the kitchen, a small amount of dirty plates were stacked meticulously. Elmyra knew it was Aerith’s turn to wash the dishes and she also knew she’d make a big deal out of Elmyra completing the task for her like she always did but it couldn’t be helped that she had Cloud to worry over.

Pulling up her sleeves, Elmyra turned the kitchen tap fully expecting the weak spray of water to start spraying out of the faucet but as she heard the troubling crank coming from beneath she knew it was not good news. The sink on a good day would take about three minutes for a steady stream of water but never did she hear a groan to this extent. Her worries were confirmed when after ten minutes of just standing in front of the sink, not a single drop of water came out of the faucet.

“Looks like I’ll need to call the plumber again.” Elmyra sighed to herself.

A noise almost like a thump had resounded from upstairs, followed by a couple of shuffling noises. A few minutes pass and the two youngsters come bounding down the stairs like they usually do in the mornings. Aerith had her usual basket dangling from her wrist, and Cloud once again had donned his very much conspicuous sword on his back.

“Cloud!” Aerith swatted his arm, supposedly for something he mumbled while they were heading down.

“Loud as ever, you two.” Elmyra mused, as they both reached the bottom floor.

It was a common sight to see them together, they were almost never apart. The few days following Cloud’s attempt at leaving, they kind of danced around each other. Figuratively, of course. It seemed a bit tense between them to say the least. But Aerith being one to not leave anything hanging, she had quickly resolved it in the only way she could and they were soon back to talking like how they used to.

“Heya!” Aerith beamed at Elmyra, meanwhile Cloud loomed behind her with a small nod of his own.

“Where are you two headed?” Elmyra had turned back around to the sink, trying but failing to turn the tap back and forth on a fruitless attempt to gain momentum for the water to start.

“We’re going to the doctor with some herbs again, and maybe pick some fresh flowers for his wife.” She answered, her voice sounding closer now from behind Elmyra. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s the tap again, I might need to call in the plumber.” Elmyra let out a small huff, getting slightly irritated at the amount of exerted energy she imbued over this. This was happening frequently now that enough gil went into fixing the kitchen sink alone to feed them for a week. “Just when I thought we were doing well with our expenses this month.”

From behind her she heard a slight clearing of the throat. “Can I have a look at it?”

Turning around to face the two, she could see the Cloud had also moved forward and was looking over Elmyra’s shoulder at the sink. 

_Hm, I thought so_.

Aerith had her face turned to him with a small smile on her face, her eyes also seemed to be smiling in admiration. The sight had pulled at the corners of Elmyra’s lips into a smile of her own.

“Sure, have a go at it.” She gestured to Cloud, stepping back to let him through.

They both watched on as he busied himself with the sink, opening the cupboards beneath the basin and inspecting the rusty pipes. He continued back and forth from the pipe and the back entrance of the cottage that led to the water tank. He worked at the pipes, settling on his back below the sink with a wrench that even Elmyra didn’t know they had.

Elmyra wasn’t exactly sure how long it usually took to fix something like this but she voiced it out anyway, becoming increasingly concerned at how long it was taking. “Cloud, if you can’t fix it that’s alright, I can call in the plumber.”

“No,” Cloud answered back with a slight strain in his voice. “I’m almost done.”

Elmyra was still unsure but she thought about all the other little repairs that he had done around the cottage and decided to just let him work it out, seeing his determination was quite motivating. She thought to just let him be and continue with other things around the house.

She heard a quiet hum from behind her, turning around towards the dining table she saw Aerith was seated on one of the dining chairs with her body turned towards the kitchen area. She was humming a sweet tune to herself and cutting an apple into slices, and then cutting the skin of the apple to create bunny ears. In front of her on the table was a plastic container where she was placing the apple bunnies. Elmyra was left wondering when exactly did Aerith grab everything. Their plans were on a halt but she didn’t seem bothered at all in waiting for Cloud, she’d even occasionally look up at him.

Elmyra quietly laughed to herself, thinking she should also make herself busy. She took her knitting bag and sat across from Aerith and continued her knitting.

They were both so engrossed in their respective tasks that the crank of the faucet made them both flinch. Turning towards the sink, Cloud was back on his feet with one hand on the tap. The faucet let out a few strong bursts before finally becoming steady in its water distribution. He let it run for a few more minutes to make sure it wasn’t a dud.

“It’s fixed.” Cloud’s voice broke the silence, almost bashful at the attention.

“Oh, wonderful.” Elmyra replied, she gave him a grateful smile from where she sat at the table.

“No problem.” He turned back to the sink to wash his hands.

Aerith had long finished cutting the apples, and she had grabbed a pitcher of water to fill a glass with water. When Cloud had come up from behind her, she held out the cup of water for him to drink. He mumbled a quiet thank you before gulping it all down in one swig.

“Good job, Cloud!” Aerith cheered him on, grabbing the now empty cup from him before placing it in the sink. She picked up her basket with the plastic container of apple bunnies inside, moving past where Cloud stood to where her mother sat.

“Well, we’re off!” Aerith piped up, placing a small kiss on Elmyra’s cheek. “And don’t you dare touch those dishes. I’ll be washing those later.”

Elmyra laughed. “Okay, be careful you two.”

She looked on as Aerith playfully looped her arm around Cloud’s, leading him out the front door. He managed to give Elmyra a small nod before making his way out. She set her sight on them through the window as they walked down the winding path, in the middle of one of their usual banters as they disappeared around the corner. The doctor’s residence wasn’t too far from their home, so she wasn’t too worried about them going outside of the sector 5 slums. 

Setting her knitting aside, she walked to the sink and watched in a mix of awe and relief as water sprayed out in a steady stream. In fact, it seemed to be coming out stronger than it ever did before. Well, now at least she solved the mystery of their mysterious handyman that was repairing everything around the cottage. Not that it was the biggest revelation.

Elmyra slowly shook her head, a small smile played on her lips. Looking up at the clock, she noted that it was a good time to go out and run some errands for herself.

*

“That should be all for today.” Elmyra muttered to herself, looking through the contents of her shopping bags. The fact that she had saved a whole lot of gil from having to call in the plumber was a huge bonus, and she had Cloud to thank for that.

“Elmyra?” A voice piped up from behind her.

Shifting her gaze to the direction of the voice, it seemed to be coming from the direction of the Leaf House. It was the housemother of the Leaf House, Judith.

“Oh, Judith.” Elmyra waved back, moving her bags closer to the Leaf House so she could talk to her.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Judith mused, taking a hint from the three bags of groceries that Elmyra was lugging with her.

Elmyra halted for a moment at the sentiment. It had indeed been a while since she stepped out into the main section of the slums for this amount of time. A lot had happened during the past few weeks, it was an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved. It had only been the last few days where she felt like things were slowly settling and going back to normal.

Or perhaps she had spoken too soon.

Just as the thought of normalcy had entered her mind, a line of Shinra infantrymen jogged almost terrorizing passed her and Judith towards the sectioned off gates belonging to Shinra. It was at that moment that it became abundantly clear that everything was far from normal. There weren't as many people roaming around in the sector 5 slums, it didn’t seem as lively as it once was before the incident. An eerie grey seems to have loomed over the slums.

“What’s going on?” Elmyra asked, slowly training her gaze around her immediate surroundings.

“It’s been happening for a week now, the number of infantrymen in all sectors has increased,” Judith answered back, releasing a sigh of her own before joining Elmyra in looking over the slums. “They seem to be searching for something or someone. I don’t know, but their presence has been scaring off the kids even more than the monsters.”

Elmyra had been frowning up till now at the new information, but it deepend at the mention of a certain detail.

“Searching… for someone?” Elmyra whispered to herself, it dawned on her what she knew at the back of her mind.

“Yes,” Judith continued. “If that wasn’t bad enough, the amount of monsters around this area have been overbearing. Luckily, we have a new saving grace around the sector who’s been eradicating them left and right.”

Elmyra was left to piece everything together. Although nothing made perfect sense, she did think everything that had been happening till now must have been connected to the young man who resided with them. She didn’t have the proper means to make that connection, but for now she thought it would be best for both Aerith and Cloud to take extra precaution. However, she knew that Aerith was more than capable of handling matters of Shinra on her own, and now that Cloud was with her she felt a bit more reassured.

As if on cue, Elmyra could hear Aerith’s voice coming from the direction of the Leaf House. She was sitting on the ground with her legs tucked comfortably beneath her. The little girls of the Leaf House were fussing around her, braiding her long brown tresses with the leftover flowers that she had in her basket. A bit off in the distance, Cloud was leaning against the side of the Leaf House building just watching over Aerith as she interacted with the girls.

“Speak of the devil!” Judith exclaimed, turning towards Aerith and Cloud. “They’ve been helping clear out the sector 5 slums of monsters and it’s been a huge help in this perplexing time.”

“Oh really? Well, I’ll be.” Elmyra mused, she wasn’t surprised in the least. They had been coming back to the cottage lately in a frazzled state like they’ve been doing some grunt work, yet nonetheless happy and content so she never questioned it.

But she now felt inclined to talk to the two youngsters about what’s been going on lately, deciding to open up the topic when they get home.

“Mom!” 

Aerith called out to Elmyra, wiggling out of her sitting position on the ground and dusting off the dirt that clung to the skirts of her dress. Aerith reached her with a bounce in her step and without a word, Cloud followed closely behind her.

“I didn’t know you were heading out, if you asked us we could’ve gotten what you needed along the way.” Aerith took on a soft tone as she chided, looking over the bags filled to the brim of various items.

“It’s alright, I’m all done now.” Elmyra replied with vigour, reaching down for one of the bags.

Before she could completely get a hold of the handle, she could see someone approach from the corner of her eye. Then hands grasping the three shopping bags in one go. Looking up, she saw Cloud standing there with the bags looking a bit bashful at his own gesture. Aerith let out a small giggle from beside him before looping her arm around her mother’s.

“You’re heading home, right? Let’s go!” Aerith cheered, pumping her small fist in the air. Her beautiful, flower braided locks swayed daintily behind her back.

Aerith peeked behind her to Cloud, making eye contact with him. She gave him a cheeky grin, pulling Elmyra along to the direction of their cottage.

Cloud shook his head slowly, a small smirk barely visible on his face.

*

Nightfall came pretty quickly and these days it seemed like no evening was free from that ominous feeling, Elmyra almost felt like every night since that fateful one she was holding her breath expecting something to happen. Yet as the three of them gathered around the dining table finishing their dinner, she felt almost a moment of peace. Aerith was once again chattering away about their day, Cloud randomly nodding along when Aerith appraised him whilst chowing down his dinner.

As a quiet lul graced the table, Elmyra thought it was a good time to talk about what’s been happening lately around the slums.

“I heard from Judith about the fervent activities happening lately.” Elmyra broke the silence.

Uncharacteristically, Aerith seemed to lose a tiny bit of the spark she had. Placing her spoon on her plate, she shifted her gaze slightly over to Cloud who also seemed to stop eating and just stared down at his plate with renewed concentration.

“I–” Cloud began, seemingly determined to say what was on his mind. “I know the monster activity and Shinra personnel around this area is because of me and because of my escape.”

Elmyra seemed to sense his unease. She was certain that his decision to stay here with them during his recovery was constantly on his mind, and with the new information she learnt today she concluded that he was taking out this feeling of unease on the monsters he eradicates in the slums.

“Cloud, I hope you know that we have no plans of surrendering you to Shinra,” Elmyra replied in a calm voice. Her fingers intertwined below her chin with her two elbows on the table.

Cloud fell silent, the internal battle with himself still going strong in his mind.

Aerith who was also silent till now had moved one hand up to his arm resting on the table, almost as if she was also sharing in his turmoil.

“She’s right, Cloud.” Aerith backed up her mother’s resolve, she was equally determined to make him understand. “They’ve infiltrated all sectors and they won’t stop even if you chose to leave from here. It was inevitable, but what matters is that you’re trying to make a difference now.”

It was true, and Elmyra knew that whatever was happening in Shinra was far from ethical judging from the state Cloud was in when he appeared before them that night. But she knew that all three of them had already acknowledged the trivial question of what would happen from here on out. They could only evade so much, and they were left wondering until when will Shinra pursue Cloud. For them to be pursuing Cloud to this degree could have only meant one thing. 

_An experimental subject, forbidden in nature._

Elmyra slowly turned her attention away from Cloud, letting it fall to the young cetra beside him.

*

“Honey? What’s going on?” 

Elmyra called out from where she stood at the foot of the stairway, peeking up through the space on the second floor. She wasn’t entirely sure what she heard, aside from a few urgent movements from the floor above her. But now that she was closer she could hear the unmistakable sound of heavy retching coming from the bathroom.

“Mom?” Aerith responded back, her panicked voice muffled from the partially closed bathroom door. “It’s Cloud!”

Gathering her bearings, she swiftly made her way up the stairs and through the bathroom door. The first thing that came into view was Cloud who was hunched over the toilet bowl, his shoulders were stiff as he continued to heave into the toilet bowl. It was so violent that he would also cough at the end of each heavy retch, struggling to take air in. Aerith was on her knees beside him, she had one hand around his bicep and the other was on his back moving slowly from the base of his neck to the middle of his back. Although her actions were calm, her hands were shaking in contradiction to her actions.

“How long has he been like this?” Elmyra stepped over a few discarded towels that dropped from the towel rack.

“For a few minutes, I–” Aerith paused, trying to keep Cloud stable as he was leaning slightly over the side. “I don’t think it’s blood, but I want to call the doctor.”

Their immediate surroundings were a mess. On the floor along with the discarded towels were hastily knocked over items that would usually be on the basin, and a glass filled to the brim with water beside them.

“Keep watch of him, I’ll go call.” Elmyra began to move towards the door.

“No–” Cloud’s quiet voice called out weakly from his hunched position on the floor, making Elmyra halt on the spot to look back at him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Cloud–” Aerith retaliated, shuffling over to pick up the glass of water to give to Cloud who seemed to have enough strength to lift his torso off the edge of the bowl. Looking back at her mother, Aerith’s eyes were just as frantic as they were on that fateful night. “Mom, please…”

Cloud who was trying to take in some water as best as he could had moved his hand to cover Aerith’s on his bicep.

“I’m sorry for waking you both up.”

It was barely a whisper, but she knew what she heard from Cloud even though it was under his breath. It was difficult to explain what exactly she was feeling herself, but just looking at Aerith whose expression was a mix of heartbreak and just pure anger. Elmyra knew that her expression must have mirrored hers. The surge of protection she had been feeling was the same feeling she felt every time she was reminded of Aerith’s time in the Shinra building.

Elmyra shifted her gaze to Aerith, trying to get her attention. As their eyes connected, she gave Aerith a small nod to indicate that she was going to head down. Managing a small smile in response, she turned her full attention back on Cloud who had pushed down the handle to flush the toilet.

Maneuvering her way back out of the bathroom, she took one more glance back through the bathroom door to see Cloud had fallen limp against Aerith. She had her back against the bathtub, her arms were wrapped around Cloud’s shoulders as his head hung limp against her own, exhaustion taking over his body. 

It was as present as it always was that night, wrapped and coiled around them and burning its bright red. The thread that bound them together pulsed it’s vivid colour as it danced around their bodies. From her arms wrapped around him, to his shoulders. Looking so delicate and fragile, as if it could snap at any moment.

_Please... don’t separate them._

At this point, she felt like she could only pray.

*

_Relapse_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah shit, sorry I didn't know anon commenting was off. Not that it changes anything (*ﾉ▽ﾉ) LMFAO.


	6. Reg*es*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't regret enabling anon commenting, you guys have been amazing and so encouraging with this story. I noticed you're all keeping an open mind about the direction of this fic and have kept your trust in me for it. I feel the pressure but it's a good kind. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

It was a beautiful day, in fact it was almost too picturesque perfect with a soft breeze blowing through the petals of their flowers splayed out across their fields. It was too perfect that it did its part to accentuate the uncomfortable atmosphere that hummed between the three of them as they sat silently eating their breakfast. The occasional clink of their cutlery and the placing of their glass tumblers against their dining table made for the appropriate ambient to accompany. Nonetheless, observing these things really just meant it was indeed awkward and unnatural of their mornings to start out in this way.

Nothing had happened per se, at least nothing that Elmyra was aware of. Rather, it just seemed like Aerith still felt a good amount of anger in place of Cloud and the poor boy had really no way of approaching her when she was in this state. Aerith was usually much quieter when she was like this and since she was the initiator of the conversations he was understandably disconcerted.

_I should probably say something._

“So honey,” Elmyra set her gaze straight at Aerith. “What’s your plan for today? Are you planning to go out?”

Aerith bit her lip, slowly lifting her own gaze to meet her mother’s questioning ones. “Out? I mean the weather–”

She stopped mid-sentence, turning towards the windows looking out towards their fields. Seemingly, having missed looking out her own windows that morning to scope out the weather for herself.

“The, uh, weather is nice.” Aerith completed her sentence looking unnaturally uncertain over her own comment rather than her usual enthusiasm for a beautiful day like it was today.

Elmyra raised one eyebrow in suspicion, looking over at Cloud who just sat silently finishing the last of his breakfast.

“Yes, it is nice and you don’t seem to have your basket with you.” Elmyra mused, with knowledge of their usual routine having been an almost immediate departure after breakfast. 

On an ordinary morning, Aerith would have her basket down on the floor beside her feet ready to just pick up and be on her way. Cloud would have his sword propped up beside the door, and it was indeed there right now. The only thing missing was Aerith’s basket.

“Did you forget it upstairs? I can go get it for you.” Cloud offered, as he finished the last of his breakfast. He was just about to get up from his chair when Aerith abruptly held out her hand to hold onto his arm, effectively stopping him from getting up.

“No!” Aerith interrupted him with a fervour that they’ve never seen from her before. Even she seemed to be surprised at herself. “I–I was thinking maybe we can take it easy today, maybe tend to the flowers outside. Or not even that, just take a stroll… or something...”

Cloud continued to stare back at Aerith, a confused frown had donned his face at her frantic demeanor. It continued for a few more seconds until his expression eventually evened out in realisation. He seemed to have caught on too on what Aerith had been trying to do and why she seemed so unsettled.

Elmyra released a short sigh. She also had caught on since she first saw Aerith shuffling around this morning, that she had been trying to stall them. Once Aerith had set her mind on something it was difficult to persuade her otherwise.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Elmyra piped up, attempting to interrupt their staring contest.

Aerith swiftly moved her gaze back down at her unfinished breakfast, breaking away first as Cloud uncharacteristically kept his eyes on her unmoving. Elmyra observed as Aerith seemed to shrivel up under his hard stare.

Well, it seemed like they both caught onto each other’s incentives.

*

_The water pipes made a groaning noise from above her, the tell-tale sound of the flush of a toilet. It seemed like it was happening again tonight. She knew Cloud didn’t look quite right again today but he obviously held it in until this time of night when he knew Aerith was deep in her sleep._

_Elmyra made her way to the kitchen to pour Cloud a glass of water. Knowing full well he’ll even take the time to slowly and quietly make his way around downstairs for the glass of water himself, as a futile attempt not to wake Elmyra up as well. She thought to just save him the trouble._

_Quietly making the trek up the short flight of stairs towards the bathroom, she could see that the door was completely shut which says a lot about how much time he took just to make sure he didn’t disturb anyone in the house. Elmyra quietly knocked on the door before opening it completely, just in time to see Cloud turning shut the tap of the faucet._

_As he lifted himself from the basin to set his gaze towards the mirror, he flinched slightly at the sight of Elmyra standing behind him._

_“Here,” Elmyra held out the glass of water to Cloud. “I’ll just go and–”_

_“No–” Cloud interrupted, turning around so fast that a bit of the water from his glass had sloshed out and onto the tiles. “Don’t tell her. I don’t want her to know.”_

_Elmyra felt rooted to the spot at his almost desperate plea. But well the fact of the matter was, she wasn’t actually going to go tell Aerith. She was just going to go and make him some herbal tea to ease him a bit from the nausea as suggested by the doctor. But his plea was so deeply rooted to a growing anxiety that exacerbated from within him, she felt almost disquieted by it._

_How far these two were willing to go for each other, it was both frightening and absolutely compelling._

*

Elmyra turned the tap of the kitchen faucet, still amazed at its consistency in water pressure ever since Cloud had repaired it. She began washing the plates they used for breakfast, observing the youngsters through the kitchen window. Aerith stubbornly had stayed true to her word, as they were out in the fields in front of the cottage doing their respective tasks.

Cloud seemed to have taken up his own construction project on their bridge that crossed over the river, much to Aerith’s disapproval and reprimand. It seemed like he felt inclined to repair it, and they couldn’t really say anything back at his insistence. Aerith was also well aware that Cloud would get on her case if she didn’t even allow him to do just this instead of eradicating the various creatures out in the slums.

They were a beautiful sight, Elmyra couldn’t help but admire them both. They fit just right together out in that picturesque scenery, Aerith sitting with her legs tucked under her, in a patch of flowers not too far away from the bridge where Cloud was hammering away at the new planks he installed. She busied herself with her own tasks, occasionally looking up at what Cloud was doing as she always seemed to do.

Aerith slowly turned her gaze towards that same gaping hole of the plate that loomed over the slums that she had always looked at the sky through. The nostalgia hit Elmyra at the sight of her daughter. It seemed like so long ago since their last conversation in that same place where she now sat now just observing the sky.

_How are the clouds today?_

“Cloud? Are you okay?”

Looking back out of the kitchen window, she could just barely hear Aerith call out to Cloud in worry. The boy in question was no longer hammering, in fact the hammer sat a little ways away from him on the planks as if it had fallen out of his grip. He sat frozen, just staring down at the river with a blank expression on his face. Most likely, remembering that fateful night where he sat now being the same place where he was found.

Aerith lifted herself up from her place on the patch of flowers that seemed to have lost its vibrancy almost immediately at the loss of her touch. She padded her way towards the bridge until she was right at the edge, about to step on the planks to reach Cloud.

“Wait– be careful this is still unstable it might not hold–” Cloud warned, having been broken away from his reverie from seeing Aerith about to step out towards him. He attempted to shift his torso around in order to move closer to Aerith.

Aerith didn’t seem to pay it much mind, bravely stepping out with her arms extended out in his direction. She balanced herself on the plank and leaned forward, wrapping her slender arms around his shoulders. Cloud was in an awkward position to begin with so he hadn’t managed to turn his body around to get a better grip on Aerith, causing her to simply wrap her extended arms around him from the back in a hug.

She didn’t seem to mind, and Cloud didn’t either as he moved one hand to grip her arm to steady her almost as if it was the most natural gesture to come to the two. Aerith rested her chin on his shoulder without a word, as she joined Cloud in just looking down with melancholy at the river below them.

Elmyra noted that the river current was peaceful, and it occurred to her that there had never been another storm as relentless as what they received on that night. She was thankful to say the least, an unpleasant stigma seemed to stem from a storm of that magnitude. As if the planet itself was at their cottage doorstep.

“Aerith,” Cloud’s quiet voice brought Elmyra back from her train of thought. “Let’s… go out into the town.”

Elmyra could visibly see Aerith’s arms had stiffened around Cloud, seemingly shocked into silence. Understandably so, since Cloud had never made any requests for himself until this moment. It was an unusual request for someone as quiet and selfless as he was but he seemed to be somewhat determined to see his request through and Aerith seemed to have understood that.

Aerith was silent for a moment, before she tightened the grip of her arms around him. “Okay…”

Elmyra let out a quiet hum as her interest piqued. Aerith had agreed on the condition that they weren’t going to do any extraneous activity such as eradicating monsters in the slums no matter what anyone said or however much gil that they offered. Elmyra removed the apron from around her neck, letting out a small laugh as she continued listening in on Aerith listing down a whole bunch of things to Cloud that they won’t be doing once they reached the town.

*

“This is divine retribution!” 

The daunting words of propaganda rang out through the sector 5 slums, followed by the whispers and murmurs of worried slum residents. From their reaction you wouldn’t believe these words were coming out of a certain tiny, black-haired female delinquent well-known around these parts for her daily grind work. Elmyra could only shake her head at the sight, here she was following closely behind Cloud and Aerith into town so that she could scope out the general affairs and this was what she had to have come across.

Cloud and Aerith stood right in the middle of the large crowd who had gathered in front of Kyrie, they stood so that Cloud was right behind Aerith with a grip on her elbow in a subconscious gesture. They seemed rather amused by Kyrie as she was once again preaching about whatever nonsense she could spout to feed off the slums pooled anxiety. 

“Look all around you,” Kyrie exclaimed as she splayed her arms out and around her for emphasis. “You all agree that the sudden increase in monsters haunting the slums is not normal, and why do you think that is? Because it’s something we’ve done… it’s something someone amongst us has done!” Kyrie growled out, instilling more fear from within the crowd as they stirred some more. “And… for a small price of 7 gil you will be saved. Pay up now!”

Aerith flinched slightly at the strong tone of Kyrie’s demands, causing her to step back into Cloud and lose her balance. With his quick reflex, Cloud moved his hand from her elbow to around her shoulders as she fell back against him. Aerith let out a sigh of relief from under her breath, tilting her head upwards at Cloud who was looking down at her with a slight frown of amusement. She let out a small laugh as she returned his look with equal amusement at Kyrie’s bold proposal.

“Kyrie! Get down here, now!” A strong voice from within the crowd piped up at the young girl. “Excuse me Aerith, Cloud.”

Elmyra inspected the crowd around Cloud and Aerith, and as she expected Mireille had finally caught on to what her delinquent granddaughter was up to. She excused her way past Cloud and Aerith, who both had shuffled slightly to make way for her. The both looked on at the predicament that unfolded before them.

“Ah–” Kyrie yelped, as she leaped back ready to make a run for it.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Mireille reprimanded, reaching out and pulling on Kyrie’s ear lobe to get her down off her makeshift platform.

The crowd began to disperse, a few curses amongst the general whispers as they went about doing their usual daily routines as did Elmyra who sat on one of the benches nearby observing everything that had gone on. Mireille eventually joined her on the bench after successfully sending away her delinquent granddaughter.

“That Kyrie will be the end of me.” Mireille piped up in exhaustion from beside her, but she didn’t look the least bit angry about that sentiment.

“We’d do just about anything for them.” Elmyra replied, sharing the sentiment with a small laugh. Her gaze never left Cloud and Aerith as they went about their own business interacting with the residents of the slums.

Cloud stood tall and looming over an old man, a teasing smirk splayed across his face as the exasperated old man began his daily preaching about how young people these days only care about their selfish need for gil and all things lavish.

“It’s a selfish world, old man.” Cloud mused, his arms folded across his chest as he continued to joke around and grind the old man’s gears. “I know… I learned this wisdom from the planet.”

Aerith let out a giggle from beside them, going unnoticed as she laughed at Cloud’s apparent camaraderie with the old man even though the two in question weren’t aware of it.

“Aerith, over here!” A voice called out to the two youngsters. It was Judith from the Leaf House, in her hands were a plate of freshly baked bread. “Here, come take home some bread.”

“Oh! Perfect!” With a clap of delight, Aerith turned towards Judith to move towards the direction of the Leaf House but was jerked back suddenly as she felt a pull from behind her. She stumbled slightly, a small frown on her face as she turned her head to peek behind her at Cloud.

Elmyra laughed as she looked on, seeing Cloud still arguing with the old man but still managed to be aware of Aerith’s every movement. Aware enough to hook his fingers through the belt on the back of her jacket to keep her in place like she was a dog on a leash.

“Cloud!” Aerith squirmed, trying to pull herself away from his grip on the belt of her jacket. Her arms flailing towards Judith who had a hand covering her mouth to hide her delight at the comical sight.

Cloud paid her no mind at his teasing gesture towards Aerith, keeping his hold on her belt as he continued to argue back and forth with the old man.

“Everybody adores them.” Mireille finally spoke up to Elmyra after some time of observing, forcing her to turn her head away from comical sight before her. “Cloud and Aerith.”

_I do, too._

Elmyra felt a calm before the storm. The day was almost too beautiful that you wouldn’t think what Kyrie had been preaching about not too long ago held any truth to them. But they were constantly reminded about it from the oppressive atmosphere that continued to loom over the slums, amongst the residents as the word ‘Shinra’ passed through their lips. Even now as she sat on the bench beside Mireille, she had been surrounded by talks of the infantrymen that were still roaming the slums, terrorising everyone’s space.

“Move out of the way.”

A frightening voice boomed through the once peaceful ambient of the slums, as two Shinra troops shoved their way through the throng of people a couple of meters away from where they were. One of them moved threateningly past innocent residents, not caring about any damages he made along the way. The other was constantly grabbing people on their shoulders asking them if they knew anything or anyone suspicious running around the slums.

Elmyra felt the panic rise up in her chest as they came closer, looking over at Cloud and Aerith just in time to see Cloud was on full alert. He wrapped his arm around Aerith’s waist, peering around his immediate surroundings for somewhere to bring them somewhere to hide.

Urged to move, Elmyra began to rise from her seat to call out to them but Mireille held onto her arm.

“Get in.” The old man calmly addressed Cloud and Aerith, still standing across from them.

He grabbed onto Cloud’s pauldron and shoved him through the door of his home with a hard push. Aerith yelped, with Cloud’s arm around her waist she got pulled into the house with him. The old man shut the door with his walking stick, followed by a short grunt at the unwelcomed sight of the two Shinra troops who loomed threateningly over him not too long after. Despite that, he didn’t seem at all bothered by their presence.

“Move,” one of the troops demanded. Looking suspiciously at the door behind the old man. “I’m under orders to remove any obstacles in my way.”

The old man let out a huff under his breath. He lifted his walking stick up from the ground slightly. At one point it was lifted off the ground as if he was about to walk away, but it was now being pushed under the chin of the troop forcing him to stumble backwards.

“You come here and terrorise the people of our slums,” the old man threatened in his calm demeanor. He shoved the end of his walking stick further, driving it deeper into the skin of the troop’s neck. “How dare you demand for anything more. Now leave.”

Elmyra stood completely still, holding her breath as she watched on not knowing what to do as the infantrymen began to shake in rage. Things could go downhill from here, and she felt the need to step in.

“How dare you!” Shoving the stick away from his throat, he gripped onto his weapon. But before he could proceed further an arm came between him and the old man. “Hey, what–”

“Enough,” the other troop with him intercepted. “Let’s go.”

The troop fixed a hard stare at the old man in silence for a few more minutes, before slowly backing away as he followed his partner off in the other direction.

Elmyra released the iron grip she had on the arm of the bench she sat on. Still shaken by what she had just witnessed. She had never seen the infantrymen act so aggressively just to gather information, as if they had turned up a notch on their search for Cloud. 

“Elmyra,” Mireille called out to her. “Everything will be okay.”

*

_‘We won’t take her from you… not unless she chooses to come herself. We’ve danced around this topic for far too long, Elmyra. We won’t make that mistake again with Aerith.’_

Elmyra remembered the words that Rude had left her with many months ago regarding Aerith. It came as a form of agreement that the cetra was under her care, but it didn’t stop Shinra and the Turks from attempting to capture and persuade her in a way to turn herself in. Aerith of course held against her own, managing to slip through their fingers up till now but the older she grew the more relentless their attempts were. That alone had always made her blood boil, letting Rude or Tseng have an earful whenever they came by to negotiate in what they deemed as a civil manner.

But this posed an even greater problem now that Cloud was under her care as well. Following the events earlier in the morning, it had forced her to think back on the sceptical way there had been no direct movements from the side of the Turks. Shinra had only been sending out their infantrymen. But if they were so serious about capturing Cloud, they definitely would’ve sent out their ‘dogs’ first thing.

Something wasn’t right about the way they executed it. Almost as if… _yes_.

_It’s almost as if they know something is going on here._

Her grip on the kitchen bench tightened as a feeling of dread overcame her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. As soon as all three of them returned to the cottage, she ordered Aerith and Cloud to not step foot out of the cottage for the next few days. Her demands were met with no resistance from the two, even from Aerith who had always managed to get her own way most of the time.

A loud bang rang out throughout the cottage, startling Elmyra enough to drop the plates she once held in her hand. Whirling around towards where the sound came from, she could see almost countless shadowy figures looming in on their cottage. A crack of lightning lit up the black abyss of sky, casting a fearful shadow of the figures onto the floor of the cottage as the banging against their front door became louder.

Before she could even move closer, the front door burst open and a legion of infantrymen stormed their way into the cottage, right behind them walked a tall man in his almost pristine suit despite the harrowing beginnings of a terror storm brewing outside. He stopped just a few steps in front of the entryway, his hands tucked away behind his back almost menacingly. The infantrymen turned towards him for his next orders. Without even so much as a blink, he nudged his head towards the flight of stairs.

“Tseng–” Elmyra called out to the man, fear evident in her voice as she reached where he stood. “What are you doing?”

Tseng held up a hand towards her, a hint of a smirk on his face as he caught on the commotion happening upstairs. “Don’t worry… we aren’t here for Aerith.”

Screaming from Aerith and a couple of hard grunts ensued from the floor above them, a fight had broken out and it sounded like it was between Cloud and the troops that stormed up the stairs not too long ago.

“What are you planning to do with them?!” Elmyra cried out, she became frantic now as she pushed past Tseng to reach the flight of stairs as fast as she could. “Aerith? Cloud?!”

As she reached the last flight of stairs she could see three of the infantrymen passed out on the floor having been knocked out in their scuffle with Cloud. Following the direction of the sound, both Cloud and Aerith were in the spare bedroom and she could only see a blur of movement as he swung his sword with a grace that could only be executed with fervent practice.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tseng’s daunting voice broke through the commotion. “Cloud…”

As the remaining troop he had been fighting dropped to the floor with a heavy thud, he came to a sudden standstill in front of Tseng who didn’t seem fazed even with a buster sword staring him dead in the eyes. Cloud’s stance stiffened with resolve as he prepared to face Tseng as Aerith stood behind him looking just about equally ready to cast from her stave that she held tightly with both hands.

Right on cue, the heavy footsteps of troops could be heard from behind Tseng and all through the cottage as they congregated. Effectively trapping them all inside the cottage.

Realising that it’ll take more than brute force to get past Tseng, Cloud relaxed his stance slightly as he began taking one small step after another backwards to where Aerith stood.

“Good,” Tseng mused. Seeing that all parties were ready to listen. He addressed everyone in the room when he began to speak again. “As you know, I’m always here making proposals.”

“What do you want?” Cloud demanded, he continued to shuffle back until he felt Aerith behind him.

Tseng smiled at Cloud’s indignant tone. “You will be coming back with us, Cloud.”

“Like hell I will,” Cloud spouted out as he gripped the hilt of his sword once more. “And if I don’t go with you?”

Taking a few steps closer to Cloud, Tseng slowly shifted his gaze to the ancient that stood behind him. The shift of focus to Aerith had put Cloud on full alert as he took one more step back until he felt Aerith move with him. She made a small noise as her back became flush against the wall behind them. Cloud was completely safeguarding her from any direct opening of attack.

“Or… I take Aerith back with us.” The tone of Tseng’s voice dropped an octave as he finished off his odious proposal.

Elmyra could hear her heartbeat ringing in her ears almost deafening as she stood rooted to the spot. Hearing his proposal, it was clear as day the extent to which they had planned out this proposal and also why they hadn’t sent the Turks out immediately. It was frightening to think that they probably always had an eye on Cloud from where they were observing from. Elmyra coiled her fingers into a tight fist, trying to quell her anger.

“Tseng,” Elmyra called out to him, managing to push through her shock to grab onto Tseng’s arm. “Please don’t do this… they’re just teenagers.”

Tseng turned his face slightly so that his eyes zoned in on Elmyra’s hand that gripped onto his arm, looking annoyed at the sight. “You know why I need to do this, Elmyra.”

“They don’t need to go through anymore pain.” Elmyra pushed, but her plea was only met with silence as Tseng roughly pulled out of her grip as he turned back to face Cloud.

Elmyra turned back to look at Cloud who stood unmoving like he was before. A deep frown started to seep onto his features as he struggled to understand the proposal. Elmyra knew he’d be confused, afterall neither her nor Aerith had revealed anything about Aerith’s past to him. The silence continued to loom amongst them, as Cloud turned his gaze slightly from Tseng to Elmyra looking for some kind of revelation. The look in his eyes made Elmyra halt in her place. It was a look as if he knew there was something or rather a life hanging by a thread in this room and it wasn’t his own.

“So what will it be?” Tseng taunted the youngsters.

Aerith squirmed slightly behind Cloud, trying to peer over his shoulder at Tseng. “No! I won’t let him go with you.”

Tseng let out a harrowing laugh. “It’s been a while hasn’t it, Aerith?”

“I–I won’t allow that,” Aerith reiterated her stance.

The silence followed her demand, it was almost unnerving. Elmyra could sense movement from behind her almost as if the troops were readying for an order.

“Is that so?” Tseng replied amused, pausing for a moment before turning his head slightly. “Take her.”

“No!” Elmyra could hear herself scream out in protest, whirling around to try stop the troops from entering the room further.

“Stop.”

The commotion died down almost immediately at the strong voice that resounded through the room. It was Cloud, who stood tall and no longer had his sword in front of him.They watched his every move, they watched as his arm laxed and the end of his sword hit the floor with a loud clunk. Tseng lifted his hand, effectively halting the troops as they proceeded to back away once more.

Cloud gave Tseng a hard stare, before turning around completely to face Aerith. Hesitating for just one moment, he slowly lifted his hands towards her face. Aerith became increasingly panicked at his docile actions, she returned his gaze trying to search for something in his eyes. She was suddenly alarmed at the lack of fight that was once instilled in him earlier.

“Cloud?” Aerith peered up at him, her voice became smaller. Almost as if she already knew what was coming.

He carefully held Aerith’s face in his hands, his face devoid of any emotion and looking slightly unsure of himself. A few minutes passed as they stood still rooted to the spot, unmoving as he took in as much as he could as if he was imprinting something to his memory. He released a sigh as he gently bumped his forehead against Aerith’s. Her eyes widened in alarm.

“I’m sorry,” Cloud whispered under his breath.

“No…” Aerith grabbed onto his hand. “Cloud, no.”

“I’ll go with you.” Cloud answered steadily, resolve laced in his voice. He was still looking at Aerith even though his answer was meant for Tseng, his eyes continued to take her in slowly almost as if he knew it would be the last time he would ever see her.

He nudged her slightly by the arm so that she bumped against the wall, pulling away from her as he loaded his sword onto his back.

“Please, don’t do this.” Aerith recovered quickly, trying to grab onto Cloud once more. But the troops had already surrounded him, shoving him roughly towards the door. “Let him go!”

Elmyra squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the need to do so as she witnessed Cloud being taken away. She knew her first priority was to get to Aerith as soon as she can before her daughter did anything that could worsen the situation. Elmyra was about to lose one, and she wasn’t about to lose another. Slightly unstable on her feet, she stumbled her way past the troops to Aerith. Wrapping her arms around her frantic daughter, she felt a resistance from her that she’s never seen from her before.

She heard, _no_ , she felt a scream so guttural in nature come out from Aerith that just for a moment she relaxed her arms around her daughter. Aerith pulled free at that moment, readying her staff as she cast a hit at one of the troops.

“You little–” The troop whipped around, his weapon in hand read to strike back.

“Don’t hurt her,” Cloud’s hard voice could be heard from the middle of the ambush of troops, as they continued to forcefully push him down the stairs. “Elmyra.”

Cloud’s plea to keep Aerith safely away resonated with her, as she once again moved to wrap her arms once more around Aerith. She could see that the exhaustion began to eat up at him, he could barely even stand upright and recover footing for himself. Elmyra was forced to be pulled along with Aerith as she struggled against her, attempting to follow them out of the cottage.

As they reached outside they could just see a helicopter pull away, climbing higher as its rotor blades sliced through the air. The troops who once filled every inch of their cottage were now jogging away, cutting through their fields and trampling on the flowers. The bridge that Cloud had repaired had its railings completely shattered.

Aerith wrapped one hand around one of the porch posts trying to steady herself, unable to peel her quivering gaze off the helicopter as it flew off carrying Cloud with it. Elmyra tightened her hold on Aerith as she slowly slid down the post till she was on her knees.

“Oh honey…”

Wrapping her arms around Aerith, she held onto her as her shoulders shook from the cries that tore from her chest.

In the dark of the night, a twinge of red flickered from the corner of her eye almost like a light that went out. The red string that had connected the two lay languid from where Aerith sat, coiling around her chest and around her hands as she cried into them. The other end of the string soiled as it ended right where the grooves of the helicopter sat, disturbing the earth below it.

But it was only for a moment. It was gone.

*

_Regress_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scenes like these are some of the most difficult ones to write, and I'm sorry about where I left it. Forgive me! I've been working on this for a couple of days and I just wanted to hurry and get it out there for you guys so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I tried to read through it a couple of times, fixing and adding but that might not even suffice haha.


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